he  Romance  of 


Frederic  Stanhope  Hill 


VV  £'-•'- 


By  Frederic  Stanhope  Hill 

The  Romance  of  the  American  Navy 
Twenty-Six  Historic  Ships 


THE    BATTLESHIP    FLEET   AT   ANCHOR    IN    SAN    FRANCISCO    HARBOR. 
"MARYLAND    '    IN    FOREGROUND 

(Copyright,  1908,  by  Enrique  Muller) 


The  Romance 

of 

The  American  Navy 

As  Embodied  in  the  Stories  of  Certain  of 
Our  Public  and  Private  Armed  Ships 

From   1775  to  1909 


By 

Frederic  Stanhope  Hill 

Late  United  States  Navy 

Author  of  "  Twenty-Six  Historic  Ships,"  "  Twenty  Years  at  Sea,"  "  The  Story  of 

the  'Lucky  Little  Enterprise,1  "  "  The  Historic  Continuity  of  the 

Anglican  Church,"  etc. 


Illustrated 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New     York     and     London 
fmfcfeerbocfcer     press 
1910 


COPYRIGHT,  1910 

BY 
FREDERIC  STANHOPE  HILL 


~be  fmicfterbocher  press,  flew  tforfc 


"Inscribes 

IN  RESPECTFUL  MEMORY 
OF  MY  GOOD  FRIEND 

GEORGE  EUGENE  BELKNAP 

REAR-ADMIRAL  UNITED  STATES  NAVY 


iii 


2040159 


FOREWORD 

IN  considering  a  title  for  this  record  of  the 
"  Romance  of  the  American  Navy "  it  has 
been  the  thought  of  the  writer  to  use  the  term 
"  navy  "  not  in  its  precise  or  strictly  technical 
meaning,  but  as  covering  all  vessels  commanded 
or  manned  by  American  seamen,  whether  or  not 
their  vessels  might,  at  the  time,  be  included  in 
the  roster  of  the  Colonial  or  American  navy. 

It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  in  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  and,  later,  in  the  War  of  1812,  not 
less  than  sixty  of  the  most  distinguished  officers 
in  our  navy  served  for  a  time  either  in  com- 
mand or  as  officers  on  board  privateers.  Trux- 
ton,  Hopkins,  Talbot,  Barney,  Decatur,  Porter, 
Biddle,  Rodgers,  Bainbridge,  Little,  Robinson, 
and  Smith  were  all  in  this  category. 

To  show  how  intimately  connected  the  history 
of  the  United  States  navy  has  been  with  that 
of  the  privateers  it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  in 
our  first  war  the  vessels  built  or  purchased  by 
Government  numbered  sixty-four,  carrying  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-two  guns  and 
swivels,  which  captured  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  vessels.  The  privateers  numbered  seven  hun- 
dred and  ninety-two,  carrying  more  than  thirteen 

v 


vi  Foreword 

thousand  guns  and  swivels,  which  captured  or 
destroyed  nearly  six  hundred  vessels. 

In  the  War  of  1812,  the  regular  navy  num- 
bered only  twenty- three  vessels,  carrying  five 
hundred  and  fifty-six  guns.  This  force  captured 
or  destroyed  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  of  the 
enemy's  ships,  public  and  private.  The  priva- 
teers, in  the  same  war,  numbered  five  hundred 
and  seventeen  vessels,  carrying  two  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-three  guns,  which  took 
or  destroyed  one  thousand  three  hundred  prizes, 
valued  at  f  45,600,000,  and  captured  thirty  thou- 
sand prisoners,  more  than  one  thousand  of  whom 
were  officers  and  privates  of  the  regular  English 
army. 

It  is  a  very  striking  fact  that,  as  against  these 
thirty  thousand  prisoners  captured  by  our  pri- 
vate armed  ships,  there  were  less  than  six 
thousand  prisoners  taken  by  our  land  forces  in 
the  War  of  1812. 

In  both  of  these  wars  the  heroic  deeds  of  our 
privateersmen  were  unparalleled  in  the  history 
of  naval  warfare.  In  September,  1814,  at  a 
public  meeting  held  in  Glasgow  by  special  re- 
quisition of  the  Lord  Provost,  it  was  resolved 
unanimously: 

That  the  number  of  (American)  privateers  with 
which  our  channels  have  been  infested,  the  audacity 
with  which  they  have  approached  our  coasts,  and 
the  success  with  which  their  enterprise  has  been 


Foreword  vii 

attended  have  proved  injurious  to  our  commerce, 
humbling  to  our  pride,  and  discreditable  to  the 
directors  of  the  naval  power  of  the  British  nation, 
whose  flag,  till  of  late,  waved  over  every  sea,  and 
triumphed  over  every  rival.  That  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  in  the  short  space  of  less  than 
twenty-four  months  above  eight  hundred  vessels 
have  been  captured  by  that  power  whose  maritime 
strength  we  have  hitherto,  impolitically,  held  in  con- 
tempt. .  .  .  and  when  in  the  plenitude  of  our  power 
we  have  declared  the  whole  American  coast  under 
blockade,  it  is  equally  distressing  and  mortifying 
that  our  ships  cannot  with  safety  traverse  our  own 
channels,  that  insurance  cannot  be  effected  but  at 
an  excessive  premium,  and  that  a  horde  of  Ameri- 
can cruisers  should  be  allowed,  unheeded,  unre- 
sisted,  and  unmolested  to  take,  burn,  or  sink  our 
own  vessels  in  our  own  inlets,  and  almost  in  sight 
of  our  harbors. 


In  view,  therefore,  of  the  undoubted  fact  that 
our  saucy  American  privateers  were  such  an 
important  factor  in  determining  the  result  of 
the  first  two  wars  of  this  nation,  and  that  so 
many  of  the  officers  and  men  who  fought  in 
these  private  ships  made  their  first  essays  in 
naval  warfare  as  privateersmen,  it  seems  to  the 
writer  that,  in  this  volume  at  least, — side  by 
side  with  the  record  of  the  officers  and.  men  of 
the  regular  establishment, — should  be  recorded 
some  of  the  brilliant  deeds  of  those  privateers- 
men,  untrained  in  military  science,  who  by  their 


viii  Foreword 

bravery,  skill,  and  patriotism  accomplished  such 
extraordinary  results. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  work  the  author 
has  consulted  the  archives  of  the  Massachusetts 
State  Department,  the  libraries  of  the  Boston 
Athenaeum  and  Harvard  University,  the  Official 
Records  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Navies  in 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  the  Life  and  Letters 
of  Admiral  D.  G.  Farragut,  J.  F.  Cooper's  His- 
tory of  the  American  Navy,  the  Biographical 
Memoir  of  Commodore  Josiah  Barney  by  Mary 
Barney,  1832,  Harris's  Life  and  Service  of  Com- 
modore William  Bainbridge,  Waldo's  Life  and 
Character  of  Stephen  Decatur,  Thomas  Clark's 
Sketch  of  the  Naval  History  of  the  United 
States,  1813,  Higgin's  Naval  Battles  of  the 
United  States,  Life  and  Battles  of  Paul  Jones, 
[Written  by  Himself],  1830,  Paul  Jones,  Founder 
of  the  American  Navy,  by  A.  C.  Buell,  J.  F. 
Davis's  Naval  Annals,  Maclay's  History  of 
American  Privateers,  Morris's  American  Navy, 
Roosevelt's  War  of  1812,  London  Naval  Chron- 
icles, Hollis's  The  Frigate  Constitution,  J. 
Butters's  American  Bravery  in  the  War  of  1812, 
Carital's  Life  of  Silas  Talbot,  Wharton's  Diplo- 
matic Correspondence  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, The  United  Service  Magazine,  Fan n ing's 
Narrative,  Gardner  Papers,  Naval  Battles  and 
Our  New  Navy,  H.  W.  Wilson's  The  Downfall 
of  Spain,  and  her  Ironclads  in  Action,  Scharf's 


Foreword  ix 

History  of   the   Confederate  Navy,   and   many 
other  contemporaneous  publications. 

The  writer  has  freely  availed  himself  of  these 
sources,  supplemented,  in  the  parts  dealing  with 
the  Civil  War,  by  such  matters  as  came  under 
his  immediate  knowledge  or  personal  observa- 
tion as  an  officer  serving  with  Farragut  at  the 
capture  of  New  Orleans  and  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and,  later,  with  Admirals  Porter  and 
Lee  in  the  upper  Mississippi  River.  He  also 
gratefully  acknowledges  in  the  preparation  of 
his  work  many  valuable  suggestions  from  Rear 
'Admiral  Stephen  B.  Luce,  U.  S.  N.,  Retired,  and 
from  Rear  Admiral  George  F.  F.  Wilde,  U.  S.  N., 
Retired. 

F.  S.  H. 

CAMBRIDGE,  November,  1909. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

FOREWORD v 

PART   I. — THE  WAR   OF  THE   REVOLUTION  AND  THE 
WAR  OF  1812. 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  STRUGGLE   ...          3 

Conditions  in  the  colonies  immediately  before 
the  Revolution.  Commencement  of  the  legis- 
lative usurpation  on  the  part  of  the  mother 
country.  A  sloop  from  Madeira  seized  by 
the  royal  officers.  The  tea-party  of  1773  re- 
sults in  Parliament  enacting  the  Boston  Port 
Bill.  A  congress  of  representatives  from  the 
different  colonies  convened  and  royal  mili- 
tary supplies  seized  by  the  patriots  in  Rhode 
Island  and  New  Hampshire.  The  fights  at 
Concord,  Massachusetts,  and  at  Lexington 
follow.  Actual  commencement  of  the  War 
of  the  Revolution.  The  first  recorded  sea 
fight  in  1636.  Capture  by  the  patriots  of 
the  British  cutter  Margaretta  in  1775  at 
Machias,  Maine.  Captain  Mugford's  cap- 
ture of  the  British  armed  ship  Hope  and  his 
contest  with  the  boats  from  a  British  frigate. 
Captain  Harding's  capture  of  three  British 
transports  laden  with  troops  and  military 
supplies.  The  Thorn  takes  an  armed  brig 
and  several  other  prizes.  Capture  of  the 
Gaspe  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 


xii  Contents 


CHAPTER  II 

COMMODORE  JOSHUA  BARNEY    ....        20 

Young  Barney  goes  to  sea  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen. He  becomes  master  of  the  ship  Sidney, 
of  Baltimore.  Passage  in  a  leaky  ship  to  Gib- 
raltar. Gives  a  bottomry  bond  for  the  cost  of 
repairs  and  sails  for  Nice.  Is  imprisoned  by 
the  Sardinian  governor  for  refusing  his  de- 
mands. Makes  a  journey  over  the  Alps  to 
Milan  to  interview  the  British  Ambassador 
and  returns  in  triumph  to  Nice.  Sails  for 
Alicante,  Spain,  where  his  ship  participates 
in  the  Conde  O'Reilly's  expedition  against 
the  Moors.  He  returns  in  the  Sidney  to  Bal- 
timore and  learns  of  the  outbreak  of  hostili- 
ties between  the  colonies  and  the  mother 
country.  Offers  his  services  to  his  own  coun- 
try as  master's  mate  of  the  Hornet  and 
hoists  the  first  American  flag  seen  in  Balti- 
more. The  Hornet  chased  by  the  Roebuck's 
tender  and  Barney's  breach  of  discipline. 
He  is  ordered  as  lieutenant  to  the  Wasp  and 
later  to  the  Sachem  on  his  seventeenth  birth- 
day. Barney  ordered  to  the  Andrea  Doria. 
Captures  a  snow  and  while  in  charge  of  her 
Barney  is  captured  by  H.  B.  M.  Perseus. 
His  affray  on  board  the  British  ship  with 
her  purser.  Is  paroled.  Marries  and  im- 
mediately sails  as  lieutenant  of  the  Saratoga. 
She  is  captured  by  the  British  Intrepid,  74. 
Barney's  imprisonment  on  the  Yarmouth,  74, 
and  his  subsequent  incarceration  in  the  Eng- 
lish Mill  Prison.  His  sensational  escape, 
disguised  as  a  British  officer.  His  wander- 
ings and  final  escape  to  France.  His  return 
home  after  eighteen  months'  absence.  Is 
given  command  of  the  Pennsylvania  State 


Contents  xiii 


ship  Hyder  Ally.  The  capture  of  the  Gen- 
eral Monk.  She  is  given  into  Barney's  com- 
mand as  the  General  Washington.  Barney 
sails  in  her  for  France  bearing  despatches 
to  Franklin.  In  the  War  of  1812  Barney, 
as  captain  U.  S.  N.  is  given  command  of 
Chesapeake  Bay  flotilla  and  is  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Bladensburg.  Receives  sword 
of  honor.  His  death  in  1818. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  "  LUCKY  LITTLE  '  ENTERPRISE  '  "     .         .        38 

Officers  afterward  famous  who  served  as  junior 
officers  in  the  Enterprise.  Lieutenant  Shaw's 
brilliant  service  in  the  West  Indies.  Sum- 
mary of  her  captures.  Lieutenant  Charles 
Stewart  takes  command.  She  joins  the  Medi- 
terranean squadron.  Capture  of  the  polacre 
Tripoli.  Returns  home  and  sails  again  for 
Mediterranean  under  command  of  Lieutenant 
Isaac  Hall.  Destroys  an  Algerine  cruiser. 
Stephen  Decatur  assumes  command.  De- 
struction of  the  Philadelphia  in  harbor  of 
Tripoli.  The  Intrepid  sent  in  to  Tripoli  to 
destroy  enemy's  gunboats.  Decatur's  des- 
perate combat  with  the  enemy's  gunboats 
outside  the  harbor.  Attacks  upon  Tripolitan 
fortifications  continue.  Treaty  of  peace 
signed  with  the  Bashaw.  War  of  1812  de- 
clared. Enterprise,  as  a  brig,  captures  the 
privateer  Fly.  Her  fight  with  and  capture  of 
the  British  brig-of-war  Boxer.  Funeral  rites 
of  the  two  commanders  at  Portland.  Cap- 
tain John  Barry  sails  in  the  frigate  Alliance 
for  France.  Takes  a  British  privateer.  Cap- 
tures the  Mars  and  the  Minerva.  Capture 


xiv  Contents 


of  the  Atlanta  and  the  Trepassy.     The  Con- 
stellation captures  the  Insurgente. 


QHAPTER  IV 

JOHN  PAUL  JONES    .        .        .        .        .        .        61 

His  birth  and  ancestry.  Goes  to  sea  at  age  of 
thirteen.  Finds  his  brother  William  in  Vir- 
ginia. He  inherits  the  estate,  taking  the 
name  of  Jones.  His  experience  as  a  tobacco 
planter.  Affray  with  an  English  lieutenant. 
The  outbreak  of  hostilities.  Jones  offers  his 
services  and  he  is  appointed  on  a  commis- 
sion for  the  purchase  of  ships  of  war.  Is 
commissioned  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Colonial 
Navy.  His  cruises  in  the  Alfred  and  Ranger. 
Carries  the  news  of  Burgoyne's  surrender 
to  France.  Captures  the  British  ship  Drake 
in  the  English  Channel.  Assumes  command 
of  the  Bon  Homme  Richard.  Desperate  com- 
bat with  the  British  frigate  Serapis  in  Eng- 
lish Channel,  and  her  capture,  his  own  ship 
sinking  at  end  of  the  engagement.  Jones 
received  in  France  with  high  honors  and  in- 
vested by  Louis  XVI.  with  Grand  Cross  of 
the  Order  of  Military  Merit.  Receives  Medal 
and  Resolution  from  Congress.  Returns  home 
and  is  given  state  dinner  in  New  York.  Re- 
turns to  France  and  is  sent  on  mission  to 
court  of  Denmark.  Empress  Catherine  com- 
missions him  Rear  Admiral  in  Russian  Navy. 
The  Liman  campaign.  Admiral  Jones  dec- 
orated with  Order  of  St.  Anne  and  pro- 
moted to  Vice-Admiral.  His  death  at  Paris. 
The  final  formal  ceremonies  by  order  of 
United  States  Government  at  the  Annapolis 
Naval  Academy. 


Contents  xv 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  CRUISES  OF  THE  PRIVATEERS  "  YANKEE," 
"  GENERAL  PICKERING,"  AND  "  PRINCE  DE 
NEUFCHATEL "  .  .  .  •  .  .  92 

The  Yankee  makes  six  successful  cruises. 
Large  amount  of  prize-money  from  her  forty 
prizes.  Harraden's  cruise  in  the  General 
Pickering.  Capture  of  the  Golden  Eagle. 
Fight  with  the  Achilles.  Last  drawn  battle. 
The  Prince  de  Neufchatel  beats  off  attack 
by  boats  of  British  frigate  Endymion. 

CHAPTER  VI 

THREE  CRUISES  OF  THE  FRIGATE  "  CONSTITU- 
TION "  106 

Commodore  Preble  sails  to  take  command  of 
the  Mediterranean  squadron.  His  midnight 
meeting  with  the  British  frigate  Maidstone. 
War  declared  with  England  and  Captain 
Hull  sails  in  command  of  the  Constitution. 
She  escapes  from  a  British  squadron  after 
a  sensational  chase.  Her  contest  with  H.  B. 
M.  frigate  Guerriere  and  capture  of  the 
British  ship.  Boston  greets  Captain  Hull 
on  his  return.  The  old  ship  sails  again, 
commanded  by  Captain  Bainbridge,  and  cap- 
tures the  frigate  Java,  after  a  severe  fight. 
The  English  ship  is  blown  up  and  Bain- 
bridge  returns  to  Boston  to  receive  honors. 
The  Constitution  sails  under  Captain  Stew- 
art, on  her  third  cruise.  Off  the  Western 
Islands  encounters  the  frigate  Cyane  and 
the  sloop-of-war  Levant  and  captures  them 
both  in  ah  hour.  The  Cyane  brought  safely 
home  and  taken  into  our  service.  The  Le- 
vant recaptured  by  the  British. 


xvi  Contents 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  REMARKABLE  CRUISE  OF  THE  FRIGATE 
"  ESSEX  "  AND  HER  CAPTURE  IN  VALPARAISO 
HARBOR H8 

The  Essex  sails  from  Salem  in  search  of  the 
frigate  Thetis  and  captures  British  cruiser 
Alert.  Capture  of  the  Nocton.  Porter  decides 
to  enter  the  Pacific.  Captures  the  Peruvian 
cruiser  Nevada  and  recaptures  the  whaler 
Barclay.  Captures  the  whalers  Georgiana 
and  Policy  and  arms  them  as  cruisers. 
Captures  the  Atlantic  and  Greenwich  with 
abundant  stores  and  provisions.  Lieuten- 
ant Downes  captures  the  Catherine  Rose 
and  Hector.  Rose  sent  as  a  cartel  to  St. 
Helena  with  prisoners.  Porter  renames  the 
Atlantic  and  commissions  her  with  Downes 
in  command.  Grand  jollification  of  the  Fourth 
of  July.  Five  of  the  prizes  sent  to  Val- 
paraiso in  convoy  of  the  Essex  Junior.  The 
Essex  captures  three  more  prizes  and  ren- 
dezvouses at  the  Gallapagos  Islands.  Cap- 
tures the  Sir  Andrew  Hammond  and  goes 
to  Nukahiva  to  refit.  With  the  Essex  Junior 
starts  for  Valparaiso.  The  British  ships 
Phoebe  and  Cherub  come  into  Valparaiso  in 
search  of  the  Essex.  The  desperate  fight  of 
the  Essex  with  the  two  British  ships  and  the 
loss  of  the  American  ship. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  "  WASP  "  AND  HER  CONTESTS  WITH  THE 
"  FROLIC  "  AND  THE  "  REINDEER  "  AND 
"  AVON."  CAPTURE  OP  THE  TENDER  OP  THE 
"  HEBRUS  "  .  .  .  .  .  ,  .  13C 

The  Wasp  captures  the  Frolic.  The  Wasp  and 
Frolic  retaken  by  the  Poictiers.  The  second 


Contents  xvii 

PAGB 

Wasp  captures  the  Reindeer  in  English 
Channel.  Also  takes  several  other  prizes 
and  later  sinks  the  Avon.  Wasp  cruises 
forty  days  in  Channel,  captures  many  prizes 
and  is  never  again  heard  from.  A  dashing 
capture  by  boats  of  the  tender  of  British 
frigate  Hebrus. 

CHAPTER  IX 

THE  "  HORNET  "  CAPTURES  THE  BRITISH  SHIPS 
"  PEACOCK  "  AND  "  PENGUIN  "  AND  THE 
"  PEACOCK  "  CAPTURES  THE  "  EPERVIER." 
CAPTURE  OF  "MACEDONIAN"  BY  THE  "UNITED 
STATES" 148 

Captain  Lawrence  captures  the  British  ship 
Peacock  off  the  Demerara  River.  The  Hor- 
net, in  1815,  captures  the  Penguin  and  she 
is  destroyed.  Hornet  chased  by  the  Corn- 
wallis,  74.  The  Peacock  captures  the  Eper- 
vier.  The  United  States  captures  the  frigate 
Macedonian. 

CHAPTER  X 

THE  "  CHESAPEAKE  "  AND  THE  "  SHANNON  "    .       159 

Captain  Lawrence  ordered  to  the  command  of 
the  frigate  Chesapeake.  Difficulty  in  secur- 
ing a  crew  for  the  ship.  Captain  Broke  sends 
in  a  challenge.  The  Chesapeake  sails  from 
Boston.  Incidents  of  the  engagement.  Cap- 
tain Lawrence  killed.  Broke  boards  and  the 
Chesapeake  is  taken. 

CHAPTER  XI 
THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE    ....       170 

Perry  ordered  to  Lake  Erie  to  organize  a  fleet. 
Strenuous  work  to  get  his  vessels  ready  to 
meet  the  enemy.  The  battle.  Perry  changes 


xviii  Contents 

PAGE 

his  flag  from  the  Lawrence  to  the  Niagara 
and  leads  her  to  victory.  Burial  of  the 
American  and  English  dead.  Perry's  de- 
spatches. His  promotion  and  the  various 
honors  bestowed. 

CHAPTER  XII 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN.  THE  DE- 
STRUCTION OF  THE  "  GENERAL  ARMSTRONG  " 
AND  THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  "  ST.  LAWRENCE  "  189 

Captain  MacDonough  ordered  to  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  He  builds  his  flagship  the  Saratoga 
in  forty  days,  and  gets  his  fleet  ready  for 
service.  The  battle  at  Plattsburg  Bay.  Cap- 
tain Downie  killed.  His  fleet  defeated  and 
surrenders.  Honors  to  the  victor.  The  pri- 
vateer General  Armstrong  destroyed  in  the 
harbor  of  Fayal  by  boats  from  a  British 
fleet.  The  privateer  Chasseur  captures  the 
St.  Lawrence. 

PART  II. — THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 

CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  MUTINY  OF  THE  "  SOMERS  "  • .        .        .      201 

Mutinies  in  the  British  Navy.  Philip  Spen- 
cer's entry  into  the  service  and  his  ante- 
cedents. Ordered  to  the  brig  Somers.  His 
suspicious  behavior  on  first  part  of  voyage. 
Discovery  of  the  plot.  Details  of  the  plan. 
Wales  reveals  the  plot  to  Commander 
McKenzie.  It  is  decided  to  place  Spencer 
under  arrest.  Small  and  Cromwell  also  ar- 
rested. A  court-martial  ordered.  The  prin- 
cipals sentenced  to  death.  Arrangements  for 
the  execution.  Spencer  confesses  guilt.  The 
three  men  are  executed.  Opinions  of  the 


Contents  xix 

PAGE 

public  upon  the  case.  Captain  McKenzie 
tried  by  court-martial  and  acquitted.  Loss 
of  the  Somers  in  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

CHAPTER  XIV 
ELLET'S     STEAM     RAMS    IN    THE    FIGHT    AT 

MEMPHIS 215 

Charles  Ellet  suggests  the  idea  of  constructing 
steam  rams  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  He 
predicts  the  havoc  to  be  wrought  by  the 
Merrimac  if  she  comes  out.  After  the  con- 
test in  Hampton  Roads  Ellet  made  colonel 
and  given  authority  to  build  rams  on  West- 
ern waters.  Fort  Pillow  evacuated.  The 
fight  above  Memphis.  The  Monarch  sinks 
the  General  Price  and  the  Queen  of  the 
West  cuts  the  General  Lovell  in  two.  The 
Monarch  disables  the  Beauregard.  Colonel 
Ellet  wounded.  Complete  victory  over  the 
Confederate  river  fleet.  Death  and  state 
funeral  of  Colonel  Ellet. 

CHAPTER  XV 
THE  CAPTURE  OP  THE   "  HARRIET  LANE  "   AT 

GALVESTON 223 

The  Confederate  preparations  for  the  assault 
upon  the  Federal  fleet  at  Galveston.  The 
first  gun  on  New  Year's  morning  the  signal 
for  the  attack.  The  Bayou  City's  New 
Year's  present.  The  Neptune  sunk  by  a 
shot  from  the  Harriet  Lane.  The  Bayou 
City  runs  her  aboard  and  carries  her  after 
the  captain  and  executive  officer  are  killed. 
The  Westfield  blown  up  with  her  commander. 
Escape  of  the  Clifton,  Owasco,  Sachem,  and 
Corypheus.  Burial  of  Captain  Wainwright 
and  Lieutenant-Commander  Lea.  Sinking  of 
the  Hatter  as  by  the  Alabama. 


xx  Contents 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  DUEL  BETWEEN  THE  "  MONITOR  "  AND  THE 

"  MERRIMAC  " 230 

The  arming  and  equipping  of  the  ram  Merri- 
mac.  Her  appearance  in  Hampton  Roads  in 
March,  1862.  She  attacks  and  sinks  the 
U.  S.  S.  Cumberland.  The  Congress,  fast 
aground,  is  next  attacked  and  captured.  She 
is  fired  and  her  crew  taken  off.  The  Merri- 
mac  retires  for  the  night.  The  Monitor 
arrives  and  prepares  for  the  battle.  The 
Merrimac  comes  down  in  the  morning  to 
complete  the  destruction  of  the  fleet  but  is 
met  by  the  Monitor.  The  duel  between  the 
two  ironclads.  Both  are  impregnable.  The 
Merrimac  retires  and  the  victory  is  with 
the  Monitor.  Final  destruction  of  the  Merri- 
mac and  loss  of  the  Monitor  at  sea. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  BY  FARRAGUT      245 

The  selection  of  a  flag  officer  for  the  contem- 
plated attack  upon  the  defences  of  New  Or- 
leans. Farragut  notifies  his  wife  and  enjoins 
secrecy.  The  fleet  and  the  troops  rendez- 
vous at  head  of  the  passes.  The  character 
of  the  defences.  Orders  for  running  the 
batteries.  Order  of  sailing.  The  night  be- 
fore the  attack.  The  chain  opened  by  C  aid- 
well.  The  fleet  under  way.  The  Hartford 
grounds  and  is  on  fire.  The  ubiquitous 
Manassas.  The  Varuna  sunk.  The  Missis- 
sippi destroys  the  Manassas.  The  Brooklyn 
sinks  the  Warrior.  The  Kennebec  and 
Winona  forced  to  return.  Victorious  fleet 
anchors  at  Quarantine.  They  proceed  up 


Contents  xxi 

PAGE 

the  river,  skirmish  at  Chalmette,  and  an- 
chor off  New  Orleans.  Wild  disorder  in 
city.  Refusal  of  mayor  to  surrender.  Land- 
ing of  armed  parties  from  fleet  and  flag 
raised  over  city.  Arrival  of  General  Butler 
and  formal  occupation  of  city  by  his  force. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

BUILDING  THE  RED  KIVER  DAM       .        .        .      266 

Combined  naval  and  military  movement  under- 
taken on  Red  River.  Porter's  fleet  ascends 
the  river  to  Alexandria.  News  of  reverses  to 
Banks's  army  causes  a  retreat  to  be  ordered. 
Rapid  fall  of  the  river  prevents  gunboats 
from  getting  below  the  falls.  Colonel  Bailey 
builds  a  dam  and  releases  the  gunboats  from 
their  perilous  position.  Summary  of  results. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  RAM  "  ALBEMARLB  "      277 

The  Confederate  ram  Albemarle  built  to  con- 
trol Albemarle  Sound.  Her  contest  with  the 
Southfield  and  Miami.  She  sinks  the  South- 
field.  Captain  Flusser  killed.  Engagement 
with  the  Sassacus  whose  boiler  explodes  and 
Federal  fleet  withdraws.  First  attempt  to 
torpedo  Albemarle  fails.  Lieutenant  Gush- 
ing formulates  plan  for  sinking  the  vessel, 
which  is  successful.  Cushing's  report  of  the 
affair.  Admiral  Porter's  praise  of  Gush- 
ing. He  receives  thanks  of  Congress  and  is 
promoted.  His  services  at  taking  of  Fort 
Fisher. 

CHAPTER  XX 

THE  "  KEARSARGE  "  AND  "  ALABAMA  "  FIGHT  .       284 
Arrival   of  the  Alabama  at  Cherbourg.     Cap- 
tain   Winslow    hears    of    this    at    Antwerp. 
Sails  at  once  to  meet  his  enemy.     Semmes 


xxii  Contents 

PAGE 

accepts  Winslow's  challenge  and  comes  out 
to  meet  the  Kearsarge.  The  battle  in  the 
channel.  The  Kearsarge  the  victor,  re- 
ceiving little  damage.  The  Alabama  sinks. 
Officers  and  crew  saved  by  Kearsarge  and 
English  yacht  Deerhound. 

CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  BATTLE  IN  MOBILE  BAY    ....      292 

The  crowning  achievement  of  Farragut's 
naval  career.  The  defences  of  Mobile  Bay. 
Buchanan's  formidable  flagship  the  Ten- 
nessee. Farragut's  arrangements  for  entering 
the  bay.  The  fleet  gets  under  way.  Con- 
federate fleet  takes  position  in  opposition. 
The  Tecumseh  blown  up.  The  Brooklyn 
pauses  and  throws  line  into  confusion. 
Farragut  dashes  ahead  and  takes  the  lead. 
Conflict  with  the  Tennessee.  Destruction 
and  capture  of  enemy's  gunboats.  The  fleet 
anchors.  The  Tennessee  comes  out  from  un- 
der the  forts  and  is  finally  mobbed  to  death 
and  captured.  Farragut  goes  north  after 
his  victory  and  is  present  at  surrender  of 
Richmond  with  President  Lincoln.  Is  made 
Admiral  of  the  Navy  by  action  of  Congress. 
His  European  cruise  in  the  Franklin  and 
superb  reception  at  foreign  courts.  Re- 
turns to  United  States  and  dies  in  1870. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

UNITED  STATES  SHIPS  CAST  ASHORE  BY  TIDAL 
WAVES  AND  HURRICANES.     THE  "  MONONGA- 

HELA,"    "  DE    SOTO,"    AND    "  WATEREE  "    CAST 

ASHORE  BY  TIDAL  WAVES     .        .      •••.  .•     .      303 

The  U.  S.  S.  Monongahela  carried  ashore  by  a 
tidal  wave  at  the  island  of  St.  Croix,  and 


Contents  xxiii 


is  carried  back  by  a  receding  wave  to  a  reef 
in  the  harbor.  As  a  result  of  the  catastrophe 
two  naval  marriages  are  celebrated.  The 
De  Soto  thrown  ashore  at  St.  Thomas  and 
carried  back  by  a  receding  wave.  The 
Wateree  thrown  ashore  at  Arica,  sold  and 
converted  into  a  summer  hotel.  Total  de- 
struction of  the  Fredonia  with  great  loss  of 
life.  The  loss  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Trenton, 
Nipsic,  and  Vandalia  in  a  hurricane  at  Apia, 
island  of  Samoa,  in  March,  1889.  The 
Trenton  prepares  for  heavy  weather,  but  the 
hurricane  sets  her  adrift  with  four  anchors 
down.  The  British  ship  Calliope  slips,  and 
narrowly  avoiding  a  collision  with  the  Tren- 
ton, after  receiving  the  cheers  of  her  crew, 
gets  safely  to  sea.  Comments  of  the  Eng- 
lish press.  Fate  of  the  Vandalia  and  death 
of  Captain  Schoonmaker.  The  survivors 
sent  to  San  Francisco.  Loss  of  the  U.  S.  S. 
Saginaw  and  the  1500-mile  trip  of  her  boat 
in  search  of  aid.  Loss  of  Lieutenant  Talbot 
in  the  surf  at  Kanai.  Rescue  of  surviving 
officers  and  crew  of  Saginaw. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OP  THE  "  MAINE  "         .         .      323 

The  battle-ship  Maine  ordered  to  Havana.  She 
arrives  and  is  moored  to  a  buoy  hereto- 
fore unused.  Cool  reception  of  officers  by  the 
authorities  and  public.  The  explosion  on 
the  night  of  February  15th.  Reception  of 
news  of  the  disaster  in  the  United  States. 
The  official  investigation.  Decision  that  ex- 
plosion was  caused  by  explosion  of  mine 
outside  the  vessel.  Action  of  Congress  and 
declaration  of  war  with  Spain.  The  Ma- 


xxiv  Contents 

PACK 

chias  and  Winslow  go  into  Cardenas  harbor 
to  destroy  Spanish  gunboats;  next  day,  with 
Wilmington  and  Hudson,  they  renew  the  at- 
tack. Brisk  engagement.  Death  of  Ensign 
Bagley.  The  Hudson  tows  the  Winslow 
safely  out  and  the  Wilmington  destroys  the 
Spanish  gunboats. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

DEWEY  IN  MANILA  BAY 337 

Secretary  Long  telegraphs  to  Dewey  at  Yoko- 
hama to  be  in  readiness  for  war  with  Spain. 
Dewey's  characteristic  letter  to  his  sister.  He 
sails  for  Manila.  Reconnoitres  Subig  Bay. 
Passes  Corregidor  and  opens  on  Spanish  fleet. 
Passes  five  times  by  the  enemy's  ships.  De- 
stroys Montojo's  flagship  and  withdraws  his 
ships  for  breakfast.  The  engagement  re- 
newed. Total  destruction  of  Spanish  fleet. 
Dewey  made  Rear  Admiral  and  receives  other 
honors  from  Congress  and  from  his  native 
State. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  RACE  OF  THE  "  OREGON  "  AROUND  CAPE 

HORN 346 

Captain  Edgar  Clark  ordered  to  command 
the  Oregon,  which  is  to  join  the  fleet  for  the 
attack  on  Cuba.  The  Marietta  to  precede 
her  and  make  advance  arrangements  for 
coaling.  The  Oregon  enters  the  Straits  of 
Magellan.  Three  days  lost  in  transferring 
wool  from  the  coal.  Captain  Clark  warned 
of  Spanish  torpedo-boat  at  Monte  Video. 
Oregon  arrives  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  safely. 
Receives  news  of  Dewey's  victory  at 


Contents  xxv 


Manila.  The  torpedo-boat  Temerario  fails 
to  materialize.  Oregon  arrives  at  Key 
West.  Captain  Clark  congratulated  upon 
successful  voyage  by  Secretary  of  Navy. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

HOBSON  SINKS  THE  "  MERRIMAC  "  IN  SANTIAGO 

HARBOR 356 

Admiral  Sampson  decides  to  obstruct  the 
harbor  by  sinking  the  collier  Merrimac  in 
the  entrance.  Consults  with  Assistant  Na- 
val Constructor  Hobson  upon  plans.  Hob- 
son  formulates  a  plan  and  .  asks  to  be 
allowed  to  take  the  vessel  in.  His  request 
granted.  Volunteers  called  for.  A  general 
response.  Seven  selected.  The  ship  stripped 
and  arrangements  made  for  speedy  sinking. 
The  start  made.  The  Merrimac  sighted  by 
the  picket  boat.  The  batteries  open  upon 
her.  Furious  fire  as  the  ship  sinks.  The 
crew  cling  to  a  catamaran  and  are  rescued 
by  Admiral  Cervera.  Hobson  taken  on  board 
the  Reina  Mercedes  as  a  prisoner.  News  of 
his  capture  sent  off  by  flag-of-truce  boat  to 
Admiral  Sampson.  The  prisoners  sent  to 
the  Morro,  where  they  are  kept  for  a  month 
before  exchange. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE    DESTRUCTION    OF    CERVERA'S    FLEET    AT 

SANTIAGO 36G 

The  elusive  fleet  at  last  placed  at  Santiago. 
The  quiet  Sunday  morning  of  July  3d.  Ad- 
miral Sampson  starts  for  Siboney  in  the 
New  York  to  confer  with  General  Shafter. 
The  signal  "  Enemy's  ships  coming  out " 


xxvi  Contents 


startles  the  fleet  into  activity.  The  Maria 
Teresa  leads  the  hostile  procession.  She  is 
quickly  driven  ashore  a  blazing  wreck.  The 
Oquendo  next  meets  her  fate  and  the  Viz- 
caya  follows  suit.  The  Gloucester  takes  care 
of  the  Pluton  and  Furor  and  the  Cristobal 
Colon,  after  a  forty-eight  miles'  run,  suc- 
cumbs to  the  fire  of  the  Oregon  and  Brook- 
lyn and  runs  ashore  and  surrenders.  Com- 
plete annihilation  of  Spain's  last  and  finest 
squadron. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  CRUISE  OP  THE  BATTLE-SHIP  FLEET  AROUND 
THE  WORLD 373 

INDEX  .  385 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

THE  BATTLESHIP  FLEET  AT  ANCHOR  IN  SAN 
FRANCISCO  HARBOR.  THE  "  MARYLAND  "  IN 
FOREGROUND        .        .        .      Frontispiece 
(Copyright,  1908,  by  Enrique  Muller.) 

JOSHUA  BARNEY 20 

From  an  engraving  after  a  miniature  by 
Isabey. 

COMMODORE  ESEK   HOPKINS     ....        26 

From   a   mezzotint   portrait   published   by 
Thomas  Hart  in  London  in  1776. 

ISAAC  HULL 44 

From  the  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart. 

DECATUR'S  STRUGGLE  WITH  THE  ALGERINES     .        50 
From  the  drawing  by  F.  O.  C.  Darley. 

THE  ENGAGEMENT  BETWEEN  THE  "ENTERPRISE" 

AND  THE  "  BOXER  " 52 

From  an  original  painting. 

COMMODORE  WILLIAM  BAINBRIDGE    ...        54 
From  the  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart. 

UNITED  STATES  SHIP  "  CONSTELLATION  "  .        .        60 

COMMODORE  JOHN  PAUL  JONES        ...        62 
From  the  portrait  by  G.  W.  Peale. 


xxviii  Illustrations 

PAGE 

JACOB  JONES 64 

From    an    engraving    of   the    painting   by 
Rembrandt  Peale. 

STEPHEN  DECATUR 98 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  T. 
Sully. 

COMMODORE  EDWARD  PREBLE    ....       108 
From  the  painting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston. 

THE  BATTLE  BETWEEN  THE  "  CONSTITUTION  " 

AND  THE  "  GUERRIERE,"  AUGUST  19,  1812  .       112 
From  the  drawing  by  G.  White. 

THE  BATTLE  BETWEEN  THE  "  CONSTITUTION  " 

AND  THE  "JAVA,"  DECEMBER  29,  1812     .       120 
From  a  sketch  by  Lieut.  Buchanan. 

THE  ENGAGEMENT  BETWEEN  THE  "  ESSEX  "  AND 
BRITISH  SHIPS  "PHOEBE"  AND  "CHERUB," 

MARCH  28,  1814 126 

From  an  old  woodcut. 

JOHNSTON   BLAKELEY         .        .        .        .        .       130 
From  the  painting  by  Gimbrede. 

DAVID  PORTER    .        .        .        .        .        ...       134 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J. 
Wood. 

THE  BATTLE  BETWEEN  THE  "  WASP  "  AND  THE 

"FROLIC,"  OCTOBER  18,  1812    ....       136 
From  an  old  print. 


Illustrations  xxix 

PAGE 

ADMIRAL  DAVID  GLASGOW  FARRAGUT        .        .       140 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  New  Orleans 
in  1862. 

ISAAC  CHAUNCEY        ......       144 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J. 
Wood. 

THE  "  HORNET  "  AND  THE  "  PEACOCK  "    .        .       154 
From  an  old  print. 

JAMES  LAWRENCE 160 

From  an  engraving  by  Leney  of  the  por- 
trait by  Stuart. 

LIEUTENANT  AUGUSTUS  LUDLOW       .        .        .       164 

THE  BATTLE  BETWEEN  THE  "  CHESAPEAKE  "  AND 

THE  "SHANNON,"  JUNE  1,  1813       .        .       168 
From  the  painting  by  J.  E.  Schetky. 

THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  "  CHESAPEAKE  "  AND  THE 

"  SHANNON  "  AT  HALIFAX  ....       170 
From  an  old  print. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  ERIE     ....       172 

OLIVER  H.  PERRY 180 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J. 
W.  Jarvis. 

THOMAS  MACDONOUGH 190 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J. 
W.  Jarvis. 


xxx  Illustrations 


THE  BATTLE  BETWEEN  THE  "  MONITOR  "  AND 

"  MERRIMAC  " 216 

From  an  old  print. 

THE  SINKING  OP  THE  "  MONITOR  "  .        .        .      242 

From  the  engraving  by  John  Sartain  after 
the  drawing  by  J.  Hamilton. 

REAR-ADMIRAL  FARRAGUT  AND  FLEET-CAPTAIN 
PERCIVAL  DRAYTON  ON  THE  DECK  OF  THE 
"  HARTFORD  "  IN  MOBILE  BAY  IN  1864     .      246 
From  a  photograph. 

THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  RED  RIVER  DAM    .      268 
Drawn  by  William  J.  Wilson. 

LIEUTENANT  CUSHING'S  TORPEDO  BOAT  SINK- 
ING   THE     "  ALBEMARLE  "     IN     ROANOKE 

RIVER,  N.  C 280 

From  an  old  woodcut. 

UNITED  STATES  SHIP  "  KEARSARGB  "       ..        .      286 

THE  "  KEARSARGE  "  SINKING  THE  "  ALABAMA  " 

OFF  CHERBOURG 290 

THE  BATTLE  OF  MOBILE  BAY,  AUGUST  5,  1864  .      292 
From  an  old  woodcut  by  G.  Gibson. 

THE  CONFEDERATE  IRONCLAD  "  TENNESSEE  "     .      294 

From  a  photograph  taken  at  Algiers,  La., 
in  1864. 

ADMIRAL  GEORGE  DEWEY 338 

UNITED  STATES  CRUISER  "  OLYMPIA  "  342 


Illustrations  xxxi 

PAGE 

UNITED  STATES  BATTLESHIP  "  OREGON  "  .        .  348 

U.  S.  S.  "  CONNECTICUT  "  AT  HAMPTON  ROADS  .  374 
(Copyright,  1908,  by  Enrique  Muller.) 

ADMIRAL  ROBLEY  D.  EVANS      ....  378 

(Copyright,  1907,  by  Enrique  Muller.) 

THE  FORWARD  DECK  OF  A  MODERN  BATTLESHIP  382 
(Copyright,  1908,  by  Enrique  Muller.) 


PART   I 

The  War  of  the  Revolution 

and 
The  War  of  1812 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  STRUGGLE 

PREVIOUS  to  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
the  North  American  Colonies  possessed  no 
naval  force,  the  defence  of  their  seacoast  and 
the  protection  of  their  commerce  being  entrusted 
to  the  British  navy.  Yet  a  large  number  of  the 
colonists  were  more  or  less  acquainted  with 
naval  affairs.  The  merchant  vessels  owned  in 
the  numerous  seaports  that  had  grown  up  within 
the  colonies  contributed  to  form  a  large  body 
of  brave,  hardy,  enterprising,  and  experienced 
seamen,  who,  in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  as  one  hundred  years  later,  in  1860, 
were  ready  and  willing  to  officer  and  man  a 
navy  that  was  to  be  created  in  a  dire  emergency. 
As  early  as  1748,  when  the  peace  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  was  declared,  five  hundred  vessels  are 
said  to  have  cleared  from  Boston  alone,  in  a 
single  year,  and  four  hundred  and  thirty  to 
have  entered  that  port.  This  was  exclusive  of 
coasting  vessels.  The  trade  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  was  somewhat  less  than  that  of 
Boston. 

3 


4  The  American  Navy 

About  this  time  it  became  a  practice  among 
the  gentry  of  the  American  provinces  to  cause 
their  sons  to  be  entered  as  midshipmen  in  the 
royal  navy.  It  is  generally  known  that  George 
Washington  was  intended  for  such  a  life  and 
that  the  tender  affection  of  his  mother,  who 
could  not  be  persuaded  to  part  with  her  favorite 
son,  alone  prevented  his  entry  into  the  British 
naval  service. 

Immediately  after  the  peace  of  1763  the  legis- 
lative usurpation  on  the  part  of  the  mother 
country  began,  which  twenty  years  later  termi- 
nated in  the  independence  of  the  colonies. 
Fresh  attempts  to  enforce  the  hated  Navigation 
Act  were  made  in  1768  and  at  Boston  a  sloop 
from  Madeira,  loaded  with  wine,  was  seized 
by  the  royal  officers  and  placed  under  charge  of 
the  Romney  man-of-war.  A  mob  collected  and 
the  public  officers  were  speedily  compelled  to 
seek  protection  in  the  castle.  This  overt  act  of 
violent  resistance  to  authority  on  the  part  of 
the  patriots  was  soon  followed  by  the  famous 
"  tea  party  "  in  1773,  which  brought  forth  from 
Parliament  in  retaliation  the  Boston  Port  Bill, 
a  high-handed  measure  that  denied  the  people 
of  the  town  all  direct  participation  in  its 
commerce,  produced  much  distress  in  Boston, 
and  caused  great  indignation  throughout  the 
country. 

Events  now  moved  quickly  and  the  colonists 
began  to  prepare  seriously  for  an  appeal  to 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle        5 

force  to  recover  vested  rights  that  they  had 
lost.  A  Congress  of  representatives  from  the 
different  colonies  convened  and  a  system  of 
organization  and  concert  was  adopted  to  unite 
as  many  as  possible  in  the  fast  approaching 
struggle. 

Laws  having  been  passed  in  England  in  1774 
prohibiting  the  exportation  of  arms  or  military 
supplies  to  American  ports,  the  cannon  and 
powder  of  the  Crown  were  seized  by  the  colo- 
nists at  various  points.  Twenty-six  guns  of 
different  calibres  were  thus  found  on  Fort 
Island  and  carried  to  Providence,  and,  in  all, 
the  Rhode  Island  people  are  said  by  these 
bold  measures  to  have  got  possession  of  forty 
guns.  At  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  a  body 
of  four  hundred  men  marched  to  the  castle  at 
the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  kept  the  small  garri- 
son in  check,  and  breaking  open  the  magazine 
carried  off  one  hundred  barrels  of  powder. 

Among  other  depots  of  war  material  one  had 
been  made  by  the  patriots  at  Concord,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  attempt  to  destroy  this  by  Gen- 
eral Gage  brought  on  the  famous  fight  at 
Lexington,  which  was  the  actual  commencement 
of  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

Within  twenty  years  after  the  first  settlement 
of  Plymouth,  ship-building  and  navigation  began 
to  occupy  much  of  the  attention  of  New  Eng- 
land and  as  every  vessel  of  any  size  carried 
light  guns  the  early  commerce  of  the  period 


6  The  American  Navy 

had  most  of  the  characteristics  of  an  armed 
trade. 

The  first  recorded  sea  engagement  that  prob- 
ably ever  occurred  between  inhabitants  of  the 
American  colonies  and  enemies  afloat  was  the 
rather  remarkable  conflict  between  John  Gallop, 
captain  and  owner  of  a  trading  sloop  of  twenty 
tons,  and  some  Narragansett  Indians. 

In  May,  1636,  Gallop,  in  his  little  vessel, 
manned  by  himself,  one  man,  and  two  boys,  was 
compelled  by  stress  of  weather  to  bear  up  for 
a  refuge  near  Plum  Island,  in  Long  Island 
Sound,  where  he  discovered  close  to  the  shore 
a  pinnace,  very  similar  to  his  own,  which  he  at 
once  recognized  as  that  of  a  Mr.  Oldham,  who 
to  his  knowledge  had  lately  sailed  on  a  trading 
expedition  with  a  crew  of  two  white  boys  and 
two  Narragansett  Indians. 

Gallop  hailed,  but  receiving  no  answer,  he  ran 
closer  in,  when  he  discovered  fourteen  Indians 
lying  on  the  deck  of  the  pinnace.  A  canoe 
manned  by  Indians  and  loaded  with  goods  had 
just  started  for  the  shore.  Gallop's  suspicion 
that  Oldham  had  been  overpowered  by  the 
savages  was  confirmed  by  the  Indians  slipping 
the  cable  of  the  pinnace  and  standing  off  before 
the  wind  in  the  direction  of  Narragansett  Bay. 

The  brave  fellow,  undaunted  by  the  superior- 
ity in  numbers  of  his  opponents,  at  once  made 
sail  in  chase  and  running  alongside  of  the  pin- 
nace fired  a  volley  of  duck  shot  point  blank  at 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle        7 

the  Indians.  The  savages,  having  swords,  spears, 
and  some  firearms,  attempted  a  resistance, 
but  Gallop  by  the  rapidity  and  precision  of  his 
fire  soon  drove  them  below.  Fearing  to  board, 
in  the  face  of  such  odds,  Gallop  allowed  the 
pinnace  to  drift  to  leeward,  while  he  hauled 
his  own  vessel  by  the  wind,  and  then,  putting 
his  helm  up,  ran  down  with  a  free  sheet  on  the 
weather  quarter  of  the  pinnace,  striking  her 
with  such  force  as  to  nearly  capsize  the  little 
vessel. 

The  Indians  were  now  so  much  alarmed  that 
six  of  them  rushed  frantically  on  deck  and 
leaped  into  the  sea,  where  they  were  all  drowned 
before  they  could  reach  the  shore.  The  sloop 
was  again  hauled  off  and  Gallop  lashed  his  an- 
chor over  the  bows  in  such  a  way  that  as  he 
ran  the  pinnace  down  the  second  time  the  fluke 
of  the  anchor  was  forced  through  the  frail 
side  of  the  little  vessel,  making  an  opening 
through  which  Gallop  and  his  crew  opened  fire 
on  the  Indians  sheltered  in  the  hold. 

Finding  it  impossible,  however,  to  dislodge  his 
enemies  in  this  manner,  Gallop  loosened  his 
fasts  and  hauled  up  to  windward  a  third  time 
to  renew  his  ramming  tactics,  when  four 
or  five  more  Indians  jumped  overboard  and 
speedily  shared  the  fate  of  the  others  in  the 
rough  water.  An  unarmed  Indian  now  appear- 
ing on  deck  and,  by  signs,  offering  submission, 
Gallop  ran  his  shallop  alongside,  received  his 


8  The  American  Navy 

captive,  and,  binding  him  hand  and  foot,  put 
him  safely  in  the  hold.  Another  man  soon  ap- 
peared and  was  also  bound,  but,  on  second 
thought,  fearing  to  increase  the  number  of  his 
prisoners,  Gallop  decided  to  throw  him  into  the 
sea  and  let  him  take  his  chance. 

Only  two  Indians  now  remained  in  the  pin- 
nace, but  as  they  had  got  into  the  cabin  and, 
being  armed,  were  difficult  to  dislodge,  Gallop, 
like  John  Gilpin,  being  of  a  prudent  turn,  provi- 
dently removed  all  the  goods  that  remained  to  his 
own  sloop,  stripped  the  pinnace  of  her  sails,  and, 
taking  her  in  tow,  hauled  up  for  the  islands 
again.  The  wind,  however,  freshened  to  such 
a  degree  that  Gallop  finally  decided  to  cut  the 
pinnace  adrift  and  abandon  her. 

The  body  of  Mr.  Oldham  was  found  on  board 
the  pinnace  fearfully  mangled,  the  flesh  still 
warm.  The  report  of  Captain  Gallop  of  this 
affair  induced  the  Governor  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  to  send  a  punitive  expedition,  under 
Endicott,  against  the  Narragan setts,  which  in- 
flicted much  injury  to  their  dwellings  and  crops. 

The  first  colonial  sea-fight  after  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill  was  the  curious  partisan  conflict 
at  Machias,  Maine,  that  resulted  in  the  capture 
of  the  British  armed  cutter  Margaretta,  Lieu- 
tenant Moore,  in  June,  1775.  The  cutter  had 
been  ordered  to  Machias,  with  two  sloops  in  con- 
voy, to  obtain  lumber  for  the  construction  of 
barracks  for  the  royal  troops  occupying  Boston. 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle        9 

News  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities  hav- 
ing reached  Machias  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
the  Margaretta  the  patriots  of  that  settlement 
determined  to  frustrate  this  effort  of  the  royal 
government  to  obtain  the  needed  building 
materials. 

Since  his  arrival  at  Machias  Lieutenant  Moore 
had  made  himself  very  obnoxious  to  the  villagers, 
especially  by  his  arrogant  demand  that  the 
liberty  pole  on  the  village  green  be  taken  down, 
under  threat  of  opening  fire  upon  the  town.  A 
public  meeting  was  called  and  voted  not  to  take 
the  pole  down  and  word  was  privately  sent  out  to 
the  surrounding  settlements  for  aid.  On  Sunday, 
May  10th,  the  inhabitants  began  to  assemble, 
armed  with  such  muskets  as  they  could  collect. 
An  incident  is  related  in  the  History  of  Machias 
that  clearly  shows  the  temper  of  the  people  in 
those  days.  The  men  who  came  from  Pleasant 
River  were  short  of  powder,  having  only  two 
or  three  charges  each.  One  of  them,  Josiah 
Weston,  in  his  haste  having  forgotten  his  powder 
horn,  his  wife  Hannah,  seventeen  years  old, 
accompanied  by  her  sister,  followed  the  trail 
through  the  woods,  carrying  a  bag  of  ammuni- 
tion weighing  forty  pounds ;  and  reached  Machias 
the  next  day. 

It  was  planned  to  capture  Lieutenant  Moore 
and  his  officers  in  church,  on  Sunday,  but  un- 
fortunately Moore,  who  sat  near  the  window, 
saw  the  assailants  gathering,  became  suspicious, 


io  The  American  Navy 

and  escaped,  with  his  officers,  by  the  open 
window  to  the  shore,  where  he  gave  the  alarm. 
Springs  were  at  once  got  upon  the  Margaretta's 
cable  and  by  way  of  intimidation  a  few  harm- 
less shots  were  fired  over  the  town,  before  the 
cutter  got  under  weigh  and  dropped  down 
the  river.  The  townsfolk,  however,  followed  the 
little  vessel  and  harassed  her  from  the  high 
banks  of  the  river,  until  she  ran  into  the  bay, 
where,  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers,  she 
anchored. 

But  the  patriots  were  not  yet  satisfied  and 
the  following  morning,  Monday,  May  llth,  four 
young  men  took  possession  of  the  lumber  sloop 
Unity  and  bringing  her  alongside  a  wharf  an- 
nounced their  intention  of  capturing  the  royal 
vessel.  A  party  of  forty  men  was  soon  col- 
lected and  with  twenty  guns,  many  of  them  fowl- 
ing pieces,  thirteen  pitchforks,  a  few  scythes, 
and  ten  or  twelve  axes,  they  made  sail  on  their 
daring  adventure  against  a  vessel  armed  with 
four  light  guns  in  broadside  and  fourteen  swivels, 
with  a  trained  crew  of  regular  seamen.  Lieu- 
tenant Moore  seems  to  have  used  every  available 
means  to  avoid  a  collision,  even  resorting  to 
cutting  away  his  boats,  which  were  in  tow,  as 
the  sloop  came  up  with  him. 

At  last  finding  that  his  assailants  were  rapidly 
gaining  upon  him  he  opened  fire,  and  a  man 
was  killed  on  board  the  sloop.  The  fire  was 
immediately  returned  by  a  man  named  Knight, 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle       1 1 

from  an  old-fashioned  "  wall  piece,"  loaded  with 
slugs.  This  discharge  not  only  killed  the  man 
at  the  Margaretta's  helm  but  also  cleared  her 
quarter-deck  of  combatants,  and,  as  the  cutter 
broached  to,  the  sloop's  crew,  delivering  a 
general  discharge  of  musketry,  boarded,  as  the 
vessels  came  together.  Lieutenant  Moore  en- 
deavored to  repulse  the  boarders  by  throwing 
hand  grenades,  with  considerable  effect,  but  he 
was  shot  down  and  the  vessel  was  soon  taken 
possession  of.  The  loss  on  both  sides  is  said 
to  have  been  twenty  killed  and  wounded. 

This  affair,  that  has  been  called  "  the  Lexing- 
ton of  the  sea,"  was  a  sudden,  unorganized  rising 
of  the  people  against  a  regular  force.  The  party 
was  originally  without  a  leader,  but  at  the  last 
moment  Jeremiah  O'Brien  was  chosen  by  his 
comrades  to  command  the  sloop,  and  under 
his  orders  the  armament  of  the  captured  Mar- 
garetta  was  transferred  to  a  sloop.  A  month 
later  she  sailed  on  a  cruise,  actually  capturing 
two  armed  English  vessels,  carrying  jointly  eight 
guns  and  sixteen  swivels,  sent  out  from  Halifax 
to  secure  O'Brien.  The  skill  and  daring  displayed 
by  this  partisan  leader  in  these  two  affairs  se- 
cured the  attention  of  the  Colonial  Council  and 
O'Brien  was  appointed  a  captain  in  the  marine 
of  the  colony  and  sent  to  sea  with  his  prizes 
with  orders  to  intercept  vessels  bringing  in 
supplies  to  the  royal  forces. 

Captain  O'Brien  was  equally  successful  in  this 


12  The  American  Navy 

duty,  recapturing  a  schooner  that  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  also  a  cutter 
and  two  barges  with  thirty-five  men,  under  the 
command  of  a  lieutenant  of  the  royal  navy. 
Later  O'Brien  commanded  several  privateers 
and  was  captured  by  the  British  in  1780,  con- 
fined for  six  months  in  the  Jersey,  prison-ship, 
and  finally  was  sent  to  England  and  incar- 
cerated in  the  Mill  Prison.  He  escaped  from 
this  place,  however,  and  crossed  the  English 
Channel  to  France  in  a  fishing  boat  and  re- 
turned to  America,  just  as  hostilities  ended. 
One  of  our  torpedo  boats  is  named  the  O'Brien 
in  honor  of  this  Captain  Jeremiah  O'Brien. 

In  May,  1776,  General  Artemas  Ward,  who 
had  been  placed  by  Washington  in  command  of 
the  Continental  forces  in  Boston,  after  its 
evacuation  by  the  British,  commissioned  Cap- 
tain Mugford,  an  adventurous  Marbleheader, 
and  gave  him  command  of  the  small  schooner 
Franklin  of  fifty  tons,  armed  with  four  guns. 
After  having  commissioned  Mugford,  however, 
General  Ward,  influenced  by  reports  derogatory 
to  the  captain's  character,  despatched  an  ex- 
press revoking  his  orders,  but  fortunately,  as  it 
proved,  Mugford  had  already  sailed. 

The  Franklin  had  not  fairly  got  out  of  the 
bay  when  she  sighted  a  large  armed  ship,  the 
Hope,  a  vessel  of  three  hundred  tons,  mounting 
six  guns  and  loaded  with  military  supplies  for 
the  British  garrison  lately  in  Boston.  Notwith- 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle       13 

standing  the  British  squadron  under  Commodore 
Banks  was  in  sight  in  Nantasket  Roads,  Mug- 
ford  bore  down  on  the  Hope  and,  by  a  coup  de 
main,  boarded  her  without  serious  opposition. 
While  the  Americans,  however,  were  busily  en- 
gaged in  taking  possession  of  their  prize,  the 
English  captain  ordered  his  men  to  cut  her  top- 
sail halliards  and  ties,  with  a  view  of  impeding 
the  sailing  of  the  ship,  thereby  giving  the  boats 
of  the  squadron  time  to  come  up.  But  Mug- 
ford,  sensible  of  the  danger  he  was  in,  threat- 
ened the  seamen  with  immediate  death  if  the 
captain's  orders  were  obeyed,  and  by  his  reso- 
lute manner  deterred  them  from  the  attempt  at 
rescue  until  he  had  brought  the  ship  through 
Broad  Sound  into  Boston  harbor.  His  prize 
proved  of  enormous  value  to  the  Continental 
arms,  as  her  cargo  included  fifteen  hundred 
barrels  of  powrder,  one  thousand  carbines,  a 
number  of  gun  carriages,  and  a  complete  assort- 
ment of  artillery  implements  and  pioneer  tools. 
As  soon  as  Mugford  saw  his  prize  safe  in 
port  he  again  put  to  sea,  but  the  tide  making 
against  him,  he  anchored  for  the  night  off  Pud- 
ding-gut Point.  At  daybreak  next  morning  he 
discovered  thirteen  man-of-war  boats  pulling 
toward  him  from  the  English  fleet.  The  gallant 
captain  at  once  prepared  for  repelling  boarders, 
by  getting  springs  on  his  cables,  tricing  up  board- 
ing nettings,  and  having  a  quantity  of  twelve- 
pound  shot  heated  red  hot  in  his  galley.  As  the 


14  The  American  Navy 

boats  drew  near  lie  opened  so  murderous  a  fire 
as  actually  to  sink  five  of  them  before  they  got 
alongside.  The  crews  of  the  remaining  boats 
attempted  to  board,  but  they  were  received  with 
hot  shot  dropped  into  the  boats  and  those  of 
the  crew  that  managed  to  climb  up  the  Frank- 
lin's side  had  their  hands  cut  off  as  they  laid 
them  over  the  gunwales  of  the  schooner. 

The  brave  Mugford,  while  making  a  blow  with 
his  cutlass  at  one  of  the  enemy,  received  a 
mortal  gunshot  wound  in  his  breast.  Retain- 
ing his  presence  of  mind,  however,  he  called  to 
his  lieutenant,  "  I  am  a  dead  man,  but  do  not 
give  up  the  vessel,  you  will  be  able  to  beat  them ; 
if  not,  cut  the  cable  and  run  the  schooner  on 
shore ! "  In  a  few  moments  the  gallant  fel- 
low expired.  The  lieutenant  ran  the  schooner 
on  shore  as  directed  and  the  boats  withdrew  with 
a  loss  of  seventy  men  in  the  short  but  fatal 
engagement.  The  American  loss  was  only  one 
man  killed,  beside  the  gallant  Mugford.1 

The  Connecticut  Colony  brig  Defence,  fourteen 
guns,  Captain  Seth  Harding,  was  working  out  of 
Plymouth  Bay  early  on  the  morning  of  June 
17,  1776,  when  a  desultory  firing  to  the  north- 
ward attracted  the  attention  of  her  commander, 
who  at  once  crowded  sail  in  the  direction  of 
the  cannonading.  About  dusk  he  fell  in  with 
four  small  American  schooners,  which  had  been 

1  Pennsylvania  Magazine. 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle       15 

having  a  running  fight  with  two  British  trans- 
ports, the  Annabella  and  the  Howe,  that  had 
proved  too  heavy  for  them.  After  beating  off 
the  schooners,  the  transports  had  gone  into  Nan- 
tasket  Roads  and  anchored  for  the  night.  One 
of  the  schooners  was  the  Lee,  8,  Captain  Daniel 
Waters,  the  other  three  were  privateers. 

After  consulting  with  the  other  captains, 
Harding  stood  into  the  Roads  and  at  about 
eleven  o'clock  he  anchored  between  the  trans- 
ports, within  pistol  shot.  Some  hailing  now  en- 
sued and  Captain  Harding  boldly  ordered  the 
enemy  to  strike.  A  voice  from  the  larger  Eng- 
lish vessel  answered,  "  Ay,  ay — I  '11  strike,"  and 
a  broadside  was  immediately  poured  into  the 
Defence.  The  Americans  responded  and  a  sharp 
action,  that  lasted  more  than  an  hour,  followed, 
when  both  British  vessels  surrendered.  These 
transports  contained  nearly  two  hundred  soldiers 
of  the  Seventy-first  Regiment,  the  same  corps 
as  those  shortly  after  taken  by  the  Doria,  and 
among  the  officers  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Camp- 
bell, commanding  the  regiment.  At  the  close  of 
the  fight  the  Defence  was  a  good  deal  cut  up 
aloft  and  had  nine  men  wounded.  The  British 
loss  was  eighteen  killed,  and  a  large  number 
wounded.  Among  the  slain  was  Major  Menzies, 
the  officer  who  had  answered  the  hail  in  the 
manner  above  mentioned. 

The  next  morning  the  Defence  sighted  a  sail 
in  the  bay  and  gave  chase,  capturing  another 


1 6  The  American  Navy 

transport,  the  John  and  George,  with  six  guns, 
having  more  than  one  hundred  men  of  the 
Seventy-first  Regiment  on  board.  Thus  did 
nearly  three  hundred  men  of  one  of  the  best  corps 
in  the  British  army  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
Americans  through  the  daring  of  the  commander 
of  this  light  cruiser.  The  Defence  was  lost  in 
1779  in  the  ill-fated  Penobscot  expedition. 

Captain  Daniel  Waters,  who  so  successfully 
aided  in  the  capture  of  the  two  British  trans- 
ports, received  a  commission  in  the  colonial 
navy  in  recognition  of  his  gallant  conduct  in 
that  affair.  In  1778,  while  in  command  of  the 
sixteen-gun  ship  Thorn,,  Captain  Waters  fell  in 
with  the  British  sixteen-gun  brig  Governor 
Tryon  in  company  with  the  Sir  William  Erskine, 
18,  Captain  Hamilton.  Waters  at  once  closed 
with  the  two  British  vessels  and  after  an  action 
lasting  two  hours,  in  which  the  English  Cap- 
tain Stebbins  was  killed,  compelled  both  vessels 
to  surrender.  On  the  passage  home  Captain 
Waters  captured  the  ship  Spartan,  eighteen  guns 
and  ninety-seven  men,  after  an  action  of  fifty 
minutes,  and  although  his  prize  the  Governor 
Tryon  escaped  under  cover  of  night,  just  before 
reaching  Boston,  he  brought  the  Sir  William 
Erskine  and  the  Spartan  safely  into  port. 

THE   CAPTURE   OF   THE    "  GASPE  " 

One  of  the  early  acts  of  resistance   to   the 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle       1 7 

Crown  occurred  in  1772  in  the  waters  of  Rhode 
Island.  A  British  vessel  of  war  had  been  sta- 
tioned on  the  coast  to  enforce  the  laws,  and  a 
small  schooner  called  the  Gaspe,  with  a  light 
armament  and  twenty-seven  men,  was  employed 
as  a  tender  to  run  into  the  shallow  waters  of 
the  coast.  On  June  17,  1772,  a  Providence 
packet  that  ran  between  New  York  and  Rhode 
Island  named  the  Hannah,  commanded  by  a  Cap- 
tain Linzee,  hove  in  sight  of  the  man-of-war,  on 
her  passage  up  the  bay.  The  packet  was  ordered 
to  heave  to,  in  order  to  be  examined;  but  her 
master  refused  to  comply;  and  being  favored  by 
a  fresh  southerly  wind  that  was  sweeping  him 
out  of  gunshot,  the  Gaspe  was  signalled  to  fol- 
low. The  chase  continued  for  twenty-five  miles, 
under  a  press  of  sail,  when  the  Hannah  coming 
up  with  a  bar,  with  which  her  master  was 
familiar,  and  drawing  less  water  than  the 
schooner,  Captain  Linzee  craftily  led  the  tender 
on  a  shoal,  where  she  struck.  The  tide  falling, 
the  Gaspe  was  not  in  a  condition  to  be  removed 
for  several  hours. 

The  news  of  the  chase  was  quickly  circulated 
among  the  citizens  of  Providence.  A  strong 
feeling  was  excited  among  the  population  and 
toward  evening  the  town  drummer  appeared  in 
the  streets  assembling  the  people.  As  soon  as 
a  crowd  was  collected  the  drummer  led  his  fol- 
lowers in  front  of  a  shed  that  stood  near  one 
of  the  stores,  when  a  man  disguised  as  an 


1 8  The  American  Navy 

Indian  suddenly  appeared  on  the  roof  and  pro- 
claimed a  secret  expedition  for  that  night, 
inviting  all  of  "  stout  hearts "  to  assemble  on 
the  wharf  precisely  at  nine,  disguised  like  him- 
self. At  the  appointed  hour  most  of  the  men 
in  the  place  collected  at  the  spot  designated, 
when  sixty-four  of  the  stoutest  were  selected  for 
the  undertaking  that  was  in  view. 

This  party  embarked  in  eight  of  the  launches 
of  different  vessels  lying  at  the  wharves,  and 
taking  with  them  a  quantity  of  paving  stones, 
they  pulled  down  the  river  in  a  body.  The  com- 
mander of  this  naval  expedition  is  supposed  to 
have  been  a  Captain  Whipple,  who  afterward 
held  a  commission  in  the  colonial  navy.  On 
nearing  the  Gaspe,  about  two  in  the  morning, 
the  boats  were  hailed  by  a  sentinel  on  deck. 
This  man  was  driven  below  by  a  volley  of 
stones.  The  commander  of  the  Gaspe  now  ap- 
peared and,  ordering  the  boats  off,  he  fired  a 
pistol  at  them.  This  shot  was  returned  from 
a  musket  and  the  officer  was  shot  in  the 
thigh.  By  this  time  the  crew  of  the  Gaspe  had 
assembled  and  the  party  from  Providence 
boarded.  The  conflict  was  short  but  decisive, 
the  schooner's  people  being  knocked  down  and 
secured.  All  on  board  were  then  put  in  the 
boats,  and  the  Gaspe  was  set  on  fire.  Towards 
morning  she  blew  up. 

Great  indignation  was  excited  among  the 
British  sympathizers  by  this  bold  step  and  the 


The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle       19 

government  offered  a  reward  of  £1000  for 
the  leader  of  the  party  and  £500  to  any  person 
who  would  discover  other  parties  implicated, 
but  no  arrests  were  made. 


CHAPTER  II 

COMMODORE  JOSHUA  BARNEY 

IN  the  brilliant  record  of  this  distinguished 
sea  officer  are  found  combined  all  the  ele- 
ments of  romance  and  adventure  formerly 
considered  necessary  to  the  construction  of  the 
old-fashioned  three  volume  novel,  such  as  de- 
lighted the  hearts  of  our  ancestors. 

Joshua  Barney,  one  of  fourteen  children  of 
William  and  Frances  Holland  Barney,  was  born 
June  6,  1759,  at  Bare  Creek,  which  afterward 
became  a  part  of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land. In  1772,  at  the  age  of  twelve,  after  a 
probationary  term  of  one  year  in  a  pilot  boat, 
young  Barney  made  his  first  voyage  to  sea,  in 
a  little  brig  bound  to  Cork.  During  the  next 
two  years  he  made  several  other  voyages  to 
European  ports  and  at  fourteen  he  had  attained 
such  proficiency  in  his  profession  that  he  was 
made  second  mate  of  the  ship  Sidney,  although 
he  was  still  rated  on  the  ship's  papers  as  an 
apprentice. 

In  December,  1774,  the  Sidney  sailed  from 
Baltimore  for  Nice,  but  the  vessel  had  scarcely 
cleared  the  Capes  of  Virginia  before  she  sprang 
a  leak  and  was  forced  to  put  back  to  Norfolk 
for  repairs.  There  the  first  mate  quarrelled  with 

20 


JOSHUA    BARNEY 

From  an  engraving  after  a  miniature  by  Isabey 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         21 

the  captain,  left  the  ship,  and  when  the  vessel 
finally  went  to  sea  Barney  was  promoted  to  his 
place.  A  few  days  after  sailing  the  master, 
Captain  Drysdale,  was  taken  ill  and  died  within 
a  week,  thus  leaving  Barney,  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  and  six  months,  thrown  upon  his  own 
resources,  with  all  the  responsibilities  attached 
to  the  command  of  a  leaky  ship,  with  a  valuable 
cargo,  and  a  large  crew  to  manage  and  control. 

After  burying  the  commander,  young  Barney 
turned  his  attention  to  the  safety  of  the  ship, 
and  for  three  weeks  it  was  necessary  to  main- 
tain incessant  labor  at  the  pumps,  supplemented 
by  bailing  with  buckets  from  the  fore  peak  and 
after  run,  to  keep  the  vessel  afloat.  After 
weary  weeks  of  this  work,  as  they  entered  the 
Mediterranean  a  heavy  gale  set  in,  the  leak  in- 
creased, and  it  became  evident  that  they  must 
put  into  Gibraltar  as  their  only  hope  of  safety. 
There  the  young  captain  made  application  for 
a  permit  to  enter  the  King's  Dock,  where  it 
was  found  three  months  would  be  required  for 
the  needed  repairs. 

It  can  be  readily  understood  that  a  very  vex- 
atious problem  was  presented  to  the  British 
authorities  in  the  appearance  of  a  lad,  not  yet 
fifteen,  borne  on  the  ship's  papers  as  an  ap- 
prentice, coming  into  port  as  master  of  a  ship, 
laden  with  a  valuable  cargo  of  grain.  Barney, 
however,  was  fully  equal  to  the  occasion  and 
fortunately  found,  in  the  firm  of  Murray  &  Son, 


22  The  American  Navy 

wise  and  competent  advisers,  who,  upon  the 
young  man's  personal  responsibility,  advanced 
him  $3500.00,  taking  as  their  security  a  Bottomry 
Bond,  made  payable  ten  days  after  the  arrival 
of  the  repaired  ship  at  Nice.  Arrived  at  the 
destined  port  young  Barney's  troubles  were  re- 
newed and  an  unexpected  opportunity  was 
presented  for  testing  the  courage,  determination, 
and  wonderful  powers  of  resource  that  marked 
this  man's  character  through  life. 

The  consignees  of  the  cargo  of  wheat,  believ- 
ing that  neither  they  nor  the  ship  could  be  held 
legally  responsible  for  the  contract  of  a  minor, 
and  an  apprentice,  determined  to  evade,  if  pos- 
sible, the  payment  of  the  bond.  Barney,  how- 
ever, was  equally  determined  that  the  bond 
should  be  paid,  as  agreed,  from  the  proceeds  of 
the  cargo.  The  merchants  remonstrated  and 
menaced,  but  the  young  man's  resolution  was 
not  to  be  shaken.  He  was  then  summoned  be- 
fore the  Governor,  who  commanded  him  to  in- 
stantly commence  the  delivery  of  the  cargo  to 
the  consignees,  or  bear  the  consequences,  but 
Barney  stubbornly  persisted  in  his  refusal  to 
deliver  the  grain  until  the  just  claims  of  Messrs. 
Murray  were  satisfied.  His  Excellency,  now 
thoroughly  incensed,  ordered  the  presumptuous 
stripling  to  leave  his  presence.  Barney,  very  com- 
posedly, retired,  but  at  the  foot  of  the  stairway  he 
was  surrounded  by  a  guard  of  soldiers,  arrested, 
and  without  ceremony  was  committed  to  prison. 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         23 

After  several  hours  of  incarceration  in  a 
filthy  Sardinian  dungeon  and  taking  the  sober 
second  thought,  for  which  he  had  full  oppor- 
tunity, Barney  decided  that  it  might  possibly 
be  wiser  to  dissemble,  and  thus  avoid  the  pos- 
sible confiscation  of  his  ship.  He  accordingly 
sent  word  to  the  Governor  that  he  was  ready 
to  yield  the  point  in  contest  and  accept  his 
liberty  on  the  proffered  terms.  The  young  man 
was  at  once  set  free  and  he  returned  to  his 
ship,  where  his  first  step  was  to  hoist  the  British 
flag  at  her  peak  and  beneath  its  folds  he  in- 
formed the  Sardinian  officer,  temporarily  in 
charge,  that  if  he  continued  his  attempts  to  dis- 
charge the  cargo,  he  should  consider  his  ship 
as  captured  by  a  superior  force  and  should 
abandon  her,  but,  he  added,  "  I  shall  leave  my 
colors  flying,  that  there  may  be  no  pretence 
hereafter  of  ignorance  as  to  the  nationality  to 
which  this  insult  has  been  offered ! "  Bather 
bold  words  these,  under  the  circumstances,  for 
a  lad  of  fifteen ! 

Barney  at  once  mustered  his  crew  and  with 
them  went  on  board  an  English  ship  lying  in 
port,  whence,  with  the  assistance  of  young  Mr. 
Murray,  who  had  come  on  from  Gibraltar,  he 
made  an  appeal  to  the  British  Ambassador  at 
the  Court  of  Sardinia.  Barney,  accompanied 
by  Mr.  Murray,  set  off  at  once  for  Milan  by 
post-chaise,  to  present  their  claim  in  person. 
The  only  record  preserved  of  this  strange  jour- 


24  The  American  Navy 

ney  is  in  Barney's  journal,  which  reads :  "  We 
crossed  the  famous  Alps,  so  noted  for  snow  and 
difficult  travel,  on  mules,  we  passed  through 
Switzerland  and  arrived  at  Milan." 

The  fiery  indignation  with  which  the  young 
mariner  described  the  invasion  of  his  ship  by 
the  Sardinian  soldiery  evidently  communicated 
itself  to  Sir  William  Lynch,  for  the  next  day 
the  Ambassador  presented  the  matter  to  His  Sar- 
dinian Majesty  in  person.  Three  days  later  this 
international  incident  was  closed  by  Barney's 
return  in  triumph  to  Nice  to  meet  an  obsequious 
Governor,  anxious  to  conciliate  him.  As  a  re- 
sult the  full  debt  to  Messrs.  Murray  was  speed- 
ily discharged,  the  whole  expense  of  the 
journey  to  Milan  was  reimbursed  and  the  Gov- 
ernor actually  paid  a  formal  visit  to  the 
ship  to  apologize  for  the  trouble  caused  and 
for  the  unfortunate  imprisonment  of  the  young 
commander.  The  Governor  further  offered  to 
pay  any  sum  he  chose  to  demand  by  way  of 
satisfaction,  which  Barney  very  graciously  de- 
clined to  accept. 

His  business  being  thus  satisfactorily  finished, 
Barney  sailed  in  the  Sidney  for  Alicante  in 
Spain,  where  he  arrived  just  as  the  royal  ex- 
pedition for  the  punishment  of  the  Dey  of 
Algiers,  under  the  Conde  O'Reilly,  was  about 
sailing.  To  his  great  annoyance  his  vessel  was 
detained  for  employment  in  the  transportation 
of  troops.  The  fleet  comprised  six  line-of-battle 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         25 

ships,  twelve  frigates,  and  fifty-one  smaller  ves- 
sels, with  three  hundred  and  forty  transports, 
carrying  thirty  thousand  troops,  one  of  the  most 
splendid  and  formidable  martial  arrays  that 
Europe  had  ever  before  witnessed.  The  fleet 
anchored  before  Algiers  on  July  1st  and  con- 
troversies and  dissensions  at  once  began  between 
the  naval  and  military  commanders.  It  was 
not  strange  then,  under  these  circumstances, 
that  when  the  landing  of  the  army  finally  took 
place,  the  victory  of  the  Algerines,  who  con- 
fronted the  Spaniards,  was  practically  assured 
and  the  repulse  of  the  assailants,  with  great 
slaughter,  was  complete. 

Barney  returned  to  his  native  shores  in  October 
and  on  entering  Chesapeake  Bay  learned  that 
his  countrymen  were  in  a  state  of  rebellion  and 
that  the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill 
had  already  been  fought.  With  this  exciting 
news  seething  in  his  mind  he  presented  himself 
at  his  owner's  counting  house. 

"  Who  are  you,  sir?  "  queried  the  surly  old 
merchant,  looking  up  from  his  desk. 

"  I  am  Joshua  Barney,  sir,  master  of  your 
ship  Sidney,  just  arrived,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Master  of  my  ship,  are  you,  sir?  And  how 
dare  you,  an  apprentice  boy,  presume  to  take 
command  of  a  ship  of  mine?  "  was  the  response. 

The  "  apprentice  boy  "  threw  on  the  desk  the 
ship's  papers  and  the  accounts  of  the  very  pro- 
fitable voyage.  "  Read  these,  sir,"  he  replied, 


26  The  American  Navy 

and  turned  away  to  the  window.  The  astonished 
old  gentleman  put  on  his  spectacles,  took  up 
the  bundle  of  papers,  and  slowly  and  with  in- 
creasing astonishment  read  them  through,  then 
rising  from  his  chair  he  seized  the  young  man's 
hand,  exclaiming :  "  Captain  Barney,  you  are 
welcome  home,  sir!  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  I 
congratulate  you  heartily  upon  your  safe  re- 
turn! Your  conduct,  throughout,  meets  my 
cordial  approbation,  sir,  and  I  am  proud  that 
I  have  so  deserving  a  young  man  in  my  employ ! 
Take  a  seat,  sir ;  we  shall  see  what  is  to  be  done, 
immediately." 

Thus  ended  this  truly  eventful  voyage  of  nine 
months,  in  which  Barney,  sailing  as  an  appren- 
tice boy,  had  been,  for  eight  months,  captain 
of  the  ship  and,  under  most  trying  conditions, 
had  brought  her  safely  home,  with  satisfactory 
profit  to  her  owner  and  with  credit  to  himself. 

Scarcely  allowing  himself  time  for  a  visit  to 
his  mother,  our  young  sailor  at  once  offered  his 
services  to  his  country,  now  in  arms,  and  he  was 
ordered,  as  master's  mate,  to  the  ten-gun  sloop 
Hornet,  Captain  Stone,  then  fitting  out  at 
Baltimore.  There  he  began  recruiting  a  crew 
for  the  vessel  and  by  a  piece  of  special  good  for- 
tune it  was  his  honorable  duty  to  hoist  at  sunrise, 
upon  a  staff  placed  before  his  rendezvous,  to 
the  music  of  fife  and  drum,  a  new  American 
flag,  sent  by  Commodore  Ezek  Hopkins  from 
Philadelphia.  This  was  the  first  flag  of  the  new 


COMMODORE    ESEK   HOPKINS 
From  a  mezzotint  portrait  published  by  Thomas  Hart  in  London  in  1776 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         27 

nation  that  had  been  seen  in  Maryland.  A  great 
crowd  was  attracted  by  the  sight  of  this  new 
flag  and  before  sunset  Barney  had  enlisted  a 
full  crew  for  the  colonial  cruiser  Hornet. 

While  returning  from  a  cruise  down  the  coast 
of  South  Carolina,  in  December,  the  captain  of 
the  Hornet  was  informed  by  a  pilot  that  the 
British  frigate  Roebuck,  44,  was  at  anchor  in 
the  Delaware  roads  and  that  her  armed  tender 
was  making  prizes  of  American  vessels  off  the 
capes.  Captain  Stone,  a  Bermudian,  with  little 
stomach  for  fighting,  stood  to  the  northward, 
hoping  to  avoid  the  enemy,  but  before  reaching 
Cape  May,  the  tender  was  sighted  and,  the 
Hornet's  guns  being  housed,  the  British  vessel 
bore  down,  thinking  she  was  a  coaster.  With- 
out waiting  for  orders,  Barney  immediately  ran 
out  one  of  the  guns  and,  with  a  lighted  match 
in  hand,  stood  prepared  for  a  shot  at  the  ap- 
proaching enemy,  but,  to  his  surprise,  Stone 
ordered  him  not  to  fire,  "  as  he  had  no  inclina- 
tion for  shedding  blood."  At  this  Barney  so 
far  forgot  discipline  as  to  throw  the  match  staff 
at  his  commanding  officer,  who  only  avoided  the 
missile  by  a  rapid  movement,  the  iron  point  of 
the  staff  sticking  in  the  poop-house.  By  this 
time  the  enemy,  discovering  that  his  antagonist 
was  an  armed  vessel,  and  of  superior  force, 
sheered  off  and  escaped,  to  the  great  disgust  of 
Barney  and  the  crew  of  the  Hornet,  who  had 
been  assured  of  making  her  a  prize.  Upon  the 


28  The  American  Navy 

arrival  of  the  vessel  in  Philadelphia  Stone  left 
her  and  abandoned  his  career  in  the  navy,  for 
which  he  was  manifestly  unfitted.  Barney  re- 
mained in  command  of  the  Hornet  until  she 
was  put  out  of  commission,  when  he  volunteered 
for  the  Wasp,  Captain  Charles  Alexander,  a 
Scotchman  and  a  most  gallant  officer. 

In  his  new  field  of  duty  Barney  soon  found 
full  scope  for  useful  and  daring  work  in  cut- 
ting out  vessels  captured  by  the  frigate  Roebuck 
and  in  co-operating  with  Commodore  Hazel- 
wood's  fleet  of  row  galleys  in  the  defence  of  the 
Delaware  River.  The  young  officer's  efficient 
service  in  this  direction  attracted  the  favorable 
attention  of  Captain  Alexander,  so  that  when 
that  gentleman  received  from  Congress  a  com- 
mission as  captain  in  the  navy,  he  warmly 
recommended  his  young  volunteer  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Marine  Committee  and  as  a  result 
Barney  was  also  honored  with  a  commission  as 
lieutenant  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States, 
and  ordered  to  the  sloop  Sachem,  Captain 
Robinson. 

On  June  6,  1776,  the  seventeenth  birthday  of 
Lieutenant  Barney,  the  Sachem  sailed  from 
Philadelphia  on  a  cruise  and  a  few  days  later 
encountered  a  heavily  armed  letter-of-marque 
brig,  with  whom  she  joined  issue.  For  two 
hours  the  combat  raged,  before  the  enemy 
finally  surrendered,  the  British  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  amounting  to  nearly  half  her  crew. 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         29 

The  Sachem  also  suffered  severely;  every  officer, 
except  the  captain  and  Barney,  was  either  killed 
or  wounded,  while  more  than  a  third  of  the 
crew  were  disabled.  Putting  Barney,  his  first 
lieutenant,  on  board  the  prize,  Captain  Robin- 
son returned  to  Philadelphia,  with  both  vessels, 
where  Robinson  and  Barney  were  detached  from 
the  Sachem  and  ordered  to  the  Andrea  Doria,  a 
fine  fourteen-gun  brig,  then  ready  for  sea. 

Robinson's  orders  were  to  proceed  to  the  Dutch 
island  of  St.  Eustatius,  to  take  in  a  quantity  of 
arms  and  ammunition  deposited  there  for  the 
Continental  States.  On  leaving  St.  Eustatius  the 
Andrea  Doria  captured  the  British  brig  Race- 
horse, Lieutenant  Jones,  with  twelve  guns  and 
a  picked  crew.  The  engagement  was  a  vigorous 
contest  of  two  hours'  duration  in  which  the 
British  vessel  was  badly  cut  up  and  had  many 
officers  and  men  wounded.  Mr.  Dunn,  second 
lieutenant  of  the  Doria,  was  placed  in  charge 
and  the  two  vessels  made  for  the  Delaware  in 
company.  A  few  days  later  an  armed  snow  was 
captured  and  Lieutenant  Barney  was  placed  in 
charge  of  her  with  a  small  prize  crew,  which 
he  increased  by  several  volunteers  from  the  Eng- 
lish prisoners.  On  the  27th  of  December,  after 
a  most  tempestuous  voyage,  Barney  got  into  the 
harbor  of  Chincoteague,  where  he  anchored  to 
rest  and  refresh  his  wearied  crew.  On  January 
3d,  when  near  Cape  Henry,  he  was  chased  by 
a  ship  of  war  and  while  endeavoring  to  make 


30  The  American  Navy 

sail  to  escape,  his  English  prisoners  mutinied 
and  refused  duty. 

Singling  out  the  evident  leader  of  the  muti- 
neers, Barney  ordered  him  on  peril  of  his  life 
to  return  to  his  duty,  the  man  refused,  and  the 
young  lieutenant  at  once  shot  him  through  the 
shoulder.  This  evidence  that  their  commander 
was  very  much  in  earnest  quelled  the  outbreak, 
but  it  was,  unfortunately,  then  too  late,  the  pur- 
suing ship  was  upon  them,  and  Barney,  with  a 
poor  grace,  surrendered  to  H.  B.  M.  ship  Per- 
seus of  twenty  guns. 

A  thoroughly  characteristic  incident  occurred 
while  Barney  was  a  prisoner  on  board  this  ship. 
While  off  Charleston  a  number  of  paroled  Eng- 
lish prisoners  were  sent  off  to  her.  One  of  these 
men,  in  the  presence  of  Barney  and  the  purser 
of  the  Perseus,  was  complaining  of  the  treat- 
ment he  had  received  from  the  "rebels,"  and 
stated  that  they  "  had  been  used  very  ill,  hav- 
ing received  nothing  to  eat  but  bad  rice  mixed 
with  sand."  The  purser,  waxing  hot  at  this 
statement,  turned  fiercely  around  to  Barney  and, 
without  a  word,  gave  him  a  blow  with  his  fist. 

With  the  quickness  of  lightning  Barney — 
prisoner  as  he  was — returned  the  blow  with  such 
force  as  sent  the  purser  sprawling  over  one  of 
the  quarter  deck  guns  and  before  he  could  be 
restrained  followed  the  blow  up  by  kicking  his 
antagonist  down  the  hatchway.  A  tumult  en- 
sued, in  the  midst  of  which  Captain  Elphin- 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         31 

stone  appeared  on  deck  and  ordered  both  the 
combatants  to  follow  him  to  his  cabin.  As  a 
result  of  his  investigation  of  the  affray  the  com- 
mander rebuked  the  purser  for  his  unprovoked 
attack  upon  a  disarmed  prisoner,  offered  Barney, 
on  his  own  part,  a  most  gentlemanly  apology 
for  the  insult,  and  permitted  him  to  be  included 
in  a  list  of  paroled  prisoners  and  sent  on  shore 
in  exchange  for  an  English  lieutenant  lately 
captured  by  the  Americans. 

Barney  was  again  captured  the  following 
March  and  held  as  a  prisoner  for  five  months 
on  board  the  Jersey,  prison  ship,  in  New  York 
harbor.  Finally,  on  being  exchanged,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1779,  his  old  commander,  Captain  Robin- 
son, selected  him  as  his  first  officer  for  a  fine 
letter-of-marque  of  twelve  guns.  On  the  way  to 
Bordeaux  they  beat  off,  after  a  severe  fight,  the 
British  privateer  Rosebud,  of  sixteen  guns, 
carrying  one  hundred  and  twenty  men.  In  this 
engagement  the  enemy  lost  forty-seven  men. 
Returning  from  France  they  were  more  fortu- 
nate, capturing  a  letter-of-marque  of  sixteen 
guns,  which  Barney  took  command  of  and 
brought  safely  into  Philadelphia. 

Having  now  arrived  at  the  mature  age  of 
twenty  years,  and  being  in  receipt  of  a  goodly 
sum  in  prize  money,  our  hero  decided  to  take 
unto  himself  a  wife,  and,  after  a  rather  brief 
wooing,  he  led  to  the  altar  Miss  Harriet  Bed- 
ford, of  Philadelphia.  It  being  war  time  the 


32  The  American  Navy 

honeymoon  was  necessarily  short  and  Barney 
was  soon  ordered,  as  lieutenant,  to  the  Conti- 
nental ship  Saratoga,  14,  Captain  John  Young. 
In  two  days  after  leaving  port  the  Saratoga 
captured  a  fine  ship  and  two  brigs,  with  valuable 
cargoes  and  carrying,  jointly,  sixty-two  guns, 
with  upwards  of  two  hundred  men.1  The  next 
day  Barney's  prize,  the  Charming  Molly,  was 
captured  by  H.  B.  M.  ship  Intrepid,  74  guns. 
The  Saratoga  escaped,,  but  was  never  after  heard 
from ;  it  is  supposed  that  she  foundered  at  sea. 

The  tide  of  fortune  seemed  to  have  ebbed  for 
a  time  for  Barney,  for  Captain  Malloy,  of  the 
Intrepid,  treated  him  with  the  utmost  cruelty 
during  the  whole  passage  to  New  York,  keep- 
ing him  on  the  poop,  exposed  to  the  weather 
and  the  severities  of  a  cold  snowstorm  without 
warm  clothing  or  bedding.  In  December,  1789, 
he,  with  seventy  other  officers,  was  put  on  board 
the  'Yarmouth,  74,  by  order  of  Admiral  Kodney, 
and  sent  to  England.  For  fifty-three  days  these 
officers  were  confined  in  the  hold  of  the  ship, 
thirty  feet  below  the  upper  deck,  in  a  close  apart- 
ment without  air,  and  supplied  with  insufficient 
food  and  with  water  of  the  worst  quality.  In 

1  The  contest  with  the  ship,  the  Charming  Molly,  was 
conducted  with  spirit  and  promptitude.  Running  along- 
side, Captain  Young  delivered  his  fire  and  threw  fifty 
men  on  the  enemy's  deck,  when  a  fierce  but  short  struggle 
ensued  that  ended  in  the  capture  of  the  ship.  Lieutenant 
Barney  led  the  boarders,  and  the  crew  that  he  overcame 
is  said  to  have  been  double  that  of  his  own  party. 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         33 

this  wretched  confinement,  unfit  for  the  vilest 
criminals,  these  gentlemen  were  kept  on  the 
passage  from  New  York  to  Plymouth. 

As  a  result  of  this  barbarous  treatment  a  pes- 
tilence broke  out  among  the  prisoners  and  eleven 
of  them  died  before  the  ship  reached  port.  On 
their  arrival  in  Plymouth  the  survivors,  pale, 
emaciated,  and  feeble,  were  ordered  on  deck,  but 
none  of  them  was  able  to  stand  erect,  many 
of  them  could  not  stand  at  all,  while  the  effect 
of  the  sudden  light  of  day — from  which  they 
had  been  excluded  for  nearly  two  months — upon 
the  weak  and  dilated  pupils  of  their  eyes  is  de- 
scribed by  Barney,  in  his  journal,  as  being 
"  insufferably  severe." 

The  wretched  prisoners  were  at  once  removed 
to  a  prison  ship  and  were  later  sent  as  "  rebels  " 
to  the  Mill  Prison,  where  they  found  between 
two  and  three  hundred  of  their  unfortunate 
countrymen  already  incarcerated. 

The  record  of  Barney's  sensational  escape 
from  this  formidable  stronghold  in  the  dis- 
guise of  a  British  officer;  his  wanderings 
through  the  surrounding  country;  his  escape 
from  the  inhospitable  shores  of  Britain  in  a 
lugger  bound  across  the  Channel  to  France;  the 
capture  of  the  little  vessel  by  an  English  pri- 
vateer and  the  enforced  return  of  Barney  to 
England;  his  escape  from  the  privateer  and  his 
renewed  wandering  in  disguise,  until  friends 
were  at  last  found  who  concealed  the  escaped 


34  The  American  Navy 

prisoner  in  their  house,  until  a  little  fishing 
vessel  was  purchased  in  which  he  was  safely 
carried  to  the  friendly  shores  of  France, — all 
these  are  related  at  length  in  Barney's  journal. 
This  truly  romantic  story,  the  details  of  which 
were  amply  verified  by  the  official  investigation 
made  by  Admiral  Digby,  is  but  another  verifi- 
cation of  the  saying  that  truth  is  stranger  than 
fiction. 

Barney  remained  on  the  Continent  until 
November,  1781,  waiting  for  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity to  return  home,  and  it  was  not  until 
December  that  he  reached  his  native  shores, 
having  been  absent  eighteen  months  without  re- 
ceiving a  word  from  his  family,  which  he  now 
found  increased  by  the  presence  of  a  fine  little 
boy,  his  first-born  child. 

Five  days  after  his  arrival  at  Philadephia  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  honored  Lieutenant  Bar- 
ney with  the  command  of  their  ship  the  Hyder 
Ally,  of  sixteen  guns  and  one  hundred  and  ten 
men.  He  at  once  entered  with  ardor  upon  his 
new  duties  and,  thirteen  days  later,  sailed  with 
a  convoy  of  merchant  vessels.  In  the  lower  bay 
two  ships  and  a  brig  were  discovered  standing 
for  them.  Signalling  his  convoy  to  return  to 
the  river,  Barney  kept  astern  of  the  ships,  cov- 
ering them  from  the  enemy.  One  of  the  two 
British  ships  came  within  pistol-shot,  delivering 
a  broadside  as  she  approached.  The  Hyder 
Ally  at  once  opened  her  ports  and  as  the  enemy 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         35 

ranged  up  for  boarding,  Barney  called  out  in 
a  loud  voice  to  the  man  at  the  wheel,  "Hard  a 
port " — meanwhile  sending  a  messenger  with  an 
order  to  have  the  wheel  put  hard  a  starboard. 
By  this  mano3uvre  the  enemy's  jibboom  caught 
in  the  fore  rigging  of  the  Hyder  Ally,  giving 
her  a  raking  position,  and  in  twenty-six  minutes 
twenty  broadsides  of  grape,  canister,  and  round 
shot  wrere  poured  into  the  helpless  ship. 

Her  flag  came  down  in  less  than  thirty  min- 
utes, but  the  frigate,  a  little  way  astern  and 
rapidly  coming  up,  remained  to  be  dealt  with. 
Sending  his  first  lieutenant  and  thirty-five  men 
on  board  the  prize,  with  orders  to  make  all  sail 
and  push  up  the  bay,  Barney  covered  her  retreat 
with  the  Hyder  Ally  until,  finding  herself  out- 
sailed, the  frigate  abandoned  the  chase  and  an- 
chored. It  was  then,  only,  that  Barney  learned 
from  his  lieutenant  in  charge  the  gratifying 
news  that  their  prize  was  H.  B.  M.  ship  General 
Monk,  Captain  Rogers,  R.  N.,  with  twenty  guns 
and  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  men — nearly 
double  his  OWTU  weight  of  metal  and  with  a  fight- 
ing force  greater  by  a  fourth  than  his  own. 
The  British  loss  in  this  engagement  was  twenty 
killed  and  thirty-three  wounded.  Among  the 
former  were  the  first  lieutenant,  purser,  sur- 
geon, boatswain,  and  gunner;  among  the  latter, 
the  commander  and  every  officer  on  board  ex- 
cept one  midshipman.  The  Hyder  Ally  had  but 
four  killed  and  eleven  wounded. 


36  The  American  Navy 

The  capture  of  this  fine  ship  in  the  presence 
of  the  British  frigate  Quebec  was  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  achievements  of  the  war,  and  in 
recognition  of  it  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania 
presented  Captain  Barney  with  an  engrossed 
vote  of  thanks  and  a  gold-mounted  sword.  The 
United  States  purchased  the  General  Monk)  re- 
named her  the  General  Washington,  and  took 
her  into  the  service,  giving  the  command  of  her 
to  Captain  Barney.  On  the  18th  of  May  Barney 
was  ready  for  sea  and  sailed  in  the  Washington 
with  a  large  convoy,  bearing  despatches  for 
Franklin  at  the  French  Court.  He  returned, 
bringing  f 600,000  in  gold  for  the  Government, 
and  also  the  welcome  news  that  the  prelimi- 
naries of  peace  had  been  signed. 

After  the  termination  of  the  war  Barney  re- 
turned to  France  and  entered  the  service  of  the 
French  Government,  receiving  the  commission  of 
Chef  de  Division  in  her  navy.  In  the  War  of 
1812,  Barney  was  commissioned  Captain  in  the 
United  States  Navy  and  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  flotilla  organized  for  the  de- 
fence of  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  was  very  active  in 
this  service  and  was  severely  wounded  at  the 
Battle  of  Bladensburg.  For  his  gallantry  on 
that  occasion  he  received  a  sword  of  honor  from 
the  city  of  Washington. 

Captain  Barney  died  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in 
1818  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine.  His  widow  sur- 
vived him  and  in  1832  wrote  an  interesting 


Commodore  Joshua  Barney         37 

biographical  memoir  of  her  distinguished  hus- 
band. The  son,  born  during  Captain  Barney's 
captivity  in  England,  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Baltimore,  1825-1829,  and  died  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  in  January,  1856,  aged  seventy- 
two  years. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  "  LUCKY  LITTLE  '  ENTERPRISE  '  ' 

IT  is  very  doubtful  if  the  naval  history  of  any 
nation  can  show  a  more  brilliant  record,  for 
a  vessel  of  her  size,  than  was  made  during  the 
first  fifteen  years  of  the  past  century  by  the 
little  twelve-gun  schooner  Enterprise,  afterward 
rigged  as  a  brig. 

During  her  very  active  service  in  the  West 
Indies,  in  the  war  between  the  United  States 
and  France  in  1798-99,  as  wrell  as  later  in  the 
Mediterranean,  where  she  took  part  in  our  con- 
flict with  the  Beys  of  Tunis  and  Tripoli,  the 
Enterprise  invariably  gave  a  good  account  of 
herself,  as  might  have  been  expected  wrhen  we 
note  the  men,  afterward  famous  in  our  naval 
history,  who  as  lieutenants  commanded  her. 

Among  these  were  sturdy  Isaac  Hull,  ten 
years  later  the  gallant  commander  of  the  Con- 
stitution, and  Stephen  Decatur,  whose  heroic  ex- 
ploit in  the  destruction  of  the  Philadelphia  in 
the  Bay  of  Tripoli  was  but  the  prelude  to  a 
long  and  brilliant  career,  that  culminated  in 
1815  in  the  absolute  humiliation  of  the  Barbary 
Powers  by  the  squadron  under  his  command. 
Other  captains  of  the  little  Enterprise  were 

38 


The  " Lucky  Little  'Enterprise'1      39 

Charles  Stewart,  who,  when  in  command  of  the 
Constitution.,  captured  the  Cyane  and  Levant; 
and  James  Renshaw,  who  for  nineteen  months 
Avas  a  captive  at  Tripoli.  David  Porter  of 
Essex  fame,  father  of  the  late  Admiral  of  our 
Navy,  served  as  a  junior  lieutenant  in  the  En- 
terprise in  the  operations  against  Tripoli,  and 
among  her  officers  at  that  time  were  midship- 
men James  Lawrence,  "  the  Bayard  of  the  Sea," 
who  gave  up  his  life  on  the  deck  of  the  ill-fated 
Chesapeake;  Joseph  Bainbridge,  and  Thomas 
Macdonough,  who  gained  the  glorious  victory 
over  the  British  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain. 

Early  in  1799  the  Enterprise  was  built  and 
equipped  at  Baltimore,  Maryland.  She  was 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  tons,  and  her 
armament  was  twelve  six-pounders,  with  a  com- 
plement of  about  seventy  men.  On  April  1, 
1800,  the  Enterprise.,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
John  Shaw,  had  a  smart  brush  with  a  brig, 
showing  Spanish  colors,  near  the  Mona  Passage. 
The  stranger  had  eighteen  guns  of  heavier 
calibre  than  the  American,  and  the  action  lasted 
for  twenty  minutes,  the  brig  continuing  to  fly 
the  Spanish  flag.  At  last  both  vessels  with- 
drew, each  convinced  that  a  mistake  in  nation- 
ality had  been  made. 

Lieutenant  Shaw,  finding  it  necessary  after 
this  contest  to  make  some  repairs,  went  into 
St.  Thomas.  While  there  he  was  challenged  to 
fight  a  French  lugger  of  twelve  guns  outside 


40  The  American  Navy 

the  harbor,  but  the  Frenchman  failing  to  keep 
the  appointment,  Shaw  sailed  for  St.  Kitts,  cap- 
turing a  small  privateer  on  the  way,  and  a  few 
days  later  he  captured  the  letter-of-marque 
Seine.  This  was  quite  a  desperate  fight,  the 
Frenchman  having  twenty-four  killed  and 
wounded,  while  the  Enterprise  had  several 
wounded  but  none  killed.  Two  weeks  later  the 
Enterprise  captured  the  six-gun  privateer  Citoy- 
enne  and  sent  her  into  St.  Kitts.  The  French 
loss  in  this  engagement  was  fourteen  killed  and 
wounded,  while  the  Americans  had  but  eight 
wounded. 

Returning  to  St.  Kitts,  the  Enterprise  re- 
fitted, and,  upon  going  to  sea,  fell  in  with  the 
same  lugger  that  had  challenged  her  a  month 
before  at  St.  Thomas,  and  actually  captured  her 
without  firing  a  shot,  very  much  to  the  surprise 
and  gratification  of  Lieutenant  Shaw,  who  had 
anticipated  a  severe  fight.  Shortly  after  this, 
while  near  Guadaloupe,  the  French  privateer  brig 
L'Agile  was  encountered  and,  after  a  brief  con- 
test, was  carried  by  boarding,  the  French  losing 
twelve  killed  and  wounded,  while  the  Enterprise 
had  only  three  wounded. 

In  July  the  Enterprise,  while  becalmed,  was 
approached  one  night  by  a  French  privateer 
brig.  Evidently  thinking  the  American  was  a 
merchant  vessel,  the  brig  had  her  sweeps  out 
and  was  coming  down  upon  her  expected  prey. 
A  breeze  sprang  up,  however,  and  the  Enter- 


The  " Lucky  Little  'Enterprise'       41 

prise,  getting  the  wind  first,  trimmed  and  made 
all  sail  and  started  in  chase  of  her  adversary. 
The  Frenchman,  finding  to  his  surprise  that  he 
had  caught  a  Tartar,  attempted  to  make  off 
before  the  wind  under  studding-sails.  But  the 
Yankee  schooner  had  the  heels  of  the  privateer, 
and  keeping  in  her  wake,  and  within  musket- 
shot,  Lieutenant  Shaw  made  it  very  unpleasant 
for  the  Frenchman  by  a  well-directed  fire  of 
small-arms.  At  last  the  Enterprise  drew  abeam 
of  the  brig,  and  the  two  vessels  then  engaged 
at  close  quarters.  During  the  fight  the  French- 
man's foretopmast  was  carried  away,  taking 
with  the  wreck  several  men  who  were  aloft  en- 
deavoring to  secure  the  spar,  and  although  the 
brig  made  no  effort  to  save  her  drowning  men, 
Captain  Shaw  humanely  lowered  a  boat  and 
picked  them  up.  Then,  running  alongside  the 
French  vessel,  and  pouring  in  a  rapid  fire,  Shaw 
soon  forced  her  to  surrender.  The  prize  proved 
to  be  the  Flambeau,  mounting  twelve  nine- 
pounders,  with  a  crew  of  one  hundred  and  ten, 
while  the  Enterprise  only  had  twelve  six- 
pounders  and  eighty-three  men.  The  French 
loss  was  forty  killed  and  wounded,  while  the 
Americans,  with  their  usual  good  fortune,  lost 
only  ten  men. 

A  month  later  the  Enterprise  chased  for  five 
hours,  and  finally  captured,  the  French  priva- 
teer Pauline  of  six  guns  and  forty  men ;  and  in 
September  she  took  the  letter-of-marque  Gfua- 


42  The  American  Navy 

daloupenne  of  seven  guns  and  forty-five  men. 
This  made  a  grand  total  for  six  months  for  the 
Enterprise  of  eight  privateers,  with  an  aggre- 
gate of  forty-seven  guns  and  three  hundred  and 
eighty-four  men,  captured,  and  four  American 
merchantmen  recaptured. 

Returning  to  the  United  States,  Lieutenant 
Charles  Stewart  was  ordered  to  the  command 
of  the  Enterprise.  In  May,  1801,  the  Enter- 
prise,  then  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Andrew 
Sterett,  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean  in  the 
American  squadron  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Richard  Dale,  who  was  ordered  to  make  a 
demonstration  in  force  against  the  Bashaw  of 
Tripoli  and  the  Bey  of  Tunis,  in  view  of  the 
probability  of  a  declaration  of  war  by  Tripoli, 
which,  as  it  proved,  had  actually  at  that  time 
been  made,  although  the  news  of  it  had  not  been 
received  at  Washington.  The  immediate  cause  of 
this  war  was  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  Bashaw 
of  Tripoli  and  the  Bey  of  Tunis  with  the  amount 
of  tribute  they  were  receiving  from  the  United 
States,  which  they  considered  insufficient  as  an 
indemnity  for  refraining  from  the  capture  of 
American  vessels. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  American  squadron 
at  Gibraltar,  the  frigate  President  and  the  En- 
terprise were  sent  to  Algiers,  and  subsequently 
the  Enterprise  was  ordered  to  Malta.  While 
cruising  off  that  island  on  August  1,  1801,  she 
fell  in  with  the  Tripolitan  war  polacre  Tripoli, 


The  "  Lucky  Little  '  Enterprise ' :      43 

of  fourteen  guns  and  eighty-five  men,  and  an 
action  was  at  once  begun,  which  lasted  three 
hours.  During  this  desperate  fight,  the  Tri- 
politan  three  times  surrendered,  but  when  the 
Enterprise  sent  a  boat  to  take  possession,  the 
enemy  twice  reopened  fire  and  rehoisted  their 
colors.  Exasperated  by  this  treachery,  Lieu- 
tenant Sterett  determined  to  sink  the  polacre, 
and  opened  fire,  but  the  Tripolitan  commander 
at  last  threw  his  flag  into  the  sea,  begging  for 
quarter.  Lieutenant  David  Porter  was  again 
sent  to  secure  the  prize,  which  this  time  he  ac- 
complished. The  Tripolitan  loss  was  fifty  killed 
and  wounded,  wrhile,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
the  Americans  had  no  loss  whatever.  Sterett 
dismantled  the  polacre,  throwing  all  her  guns 
overboard,  and  ordered  her  to  make  for  the 
nearest  port.  For  this  gallant  affair  Lieutenant 
Sterett  was  promoted,  and  Congress  voted  him 
a  sword,  while  each  member  of  the  crew  received 
a  month's  extra  pay. 

The  Tripolitan  commander  did  not  fare  as 
well,  for  upon  the  arrival  of  the  polacre  at 
Tripoli  the  Bashaw  ordered  her  wounded  cap- 
tain to  be  mounted  on  a  jackass  and  paraded 
through  the  streets,  and  afterward  to  receive 
five  hundred  bastinadoes.  So  terrified  were  the 
Tripolitans  at  this  event  that  the  sailors  aban- 
doned their  cruisers  fitting  out,  and  only  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  could  men  be  procured  to 
navigate  them. 


44  The  American  Navy 

Under  orders  from  Washington,  the  President 
and  the  Enterprise  returned  to  the  United  States 
in  December,  to  avoid  wintering  in  the  Medi- 
terranean. In  May,  1802,  the  Enterprise  again 
sailed  for  those  waters,  accompanying  a  squad- 
ron commanded  by  Commodore  Victor  L.  Morris, 
which  included  the  frigates  Chesapeake.,  Constel- 
lation, and  New  York.,  and  the  corvettes  Adams 
and  John  Adams.  The  frigates  Philadelphia 
and  Essex  had  remained  on  the  station. 

During  this  cruise  the  Enterprise,  while 
commanded  by  the  gallant  Isaac  Hull,  then 
a  lieutenant,  actually  cornered  a  Tripolitan 
twenty-two-gun  cruiser  one  night,  driving  her  to 
seek  refuge  in  a  narrow  bay,  and  holding  her 
there  until  daylight,  when  the  frigate  John 
Adams  coming  down  to  the  assistance  of  the 
plucky  little  schooner,  the  two  American  vessels 
stood  in  shore,  opened  fire,  and  soon  afterward 
the  cruiser  blew  up  with  all  on  board. 

On  December  23,  1803,  the  Enterprise,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  Stephen  Decatur,  cap- 
tured a  Tripolitan  ketch,  the  Mastico,  bound 
for  Constantinople  with  female  slaves  for  the 
Sultan's  harem.  Decatur  had  already  proposed 
to  Preble  to  run  into  the  harbor  of  Tripoli  at 
night  with  the  Enterprise  and  destroy  the 
Philadelphia  that  had  been  taken  possession  of 
by  the  Tripolitans  on  November  1st,  after  she 
had  grounded  near  the  entrance  to  the  port,  but 
the  commodore  would  not  sanction  the  plan. 


ISAAC    HULL 

From  the  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart 


The  "  Lucky  Little  '  Enterprise  '        45 

He  decided,  however,  to  send  in  the  Mastico 
on  this  venture,  and  the  officers  and  crew  of 
the  Enterprise,  having  captured  the  ketch, 
claimed  the  honor  of  taking  her  in  for  this 
perilous  expedition.  Every  man  and  boy  on 
board  volunteered  for  the  occasion,  but  as  the 
crews  of  other  ships  also  demanded  recognition, 
six  officers  from  the  Enterprise  and  six  from 
the  Constitution  were  selected.  Sixty-two  men 
were  also  chosen  from  the  crews  of  the  two 
vessels,  and  these,  with  an  Italian  pilot,  manned 
the  Mastico. 

Entering  the  harbor  of  Tripoli  on  the  evening 
of  February  15,  1804,  the  Mastico  was  permitted 
to  drift  quietly  close  alongside  of  the  Philadel- 
phia without  exciting  suspicion,  and  then,  led  by 
the  gallant  Decatur,  and  followed  by  his  brave 
officers  and  men,  the  frigate  was  boarded,  the 
crew  of  four  hundred  Tripolitans  were  driven 
in  panic  overboard,  and  the  ship  was  fired.  The 
daring  Americans  then  escaped  from  the  har- 
bor, followed  by  the  Tripolitan  gunboats,  and 
safely  passing  through  a  hail  of  shot  and  shell 
from  batteries  mounting  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen heavy  guns,  reached  their  ships  with  but 
one  man  wounded. 

The  Philadelphia  burned  furiously,  until  at 
last  the  magazines  ignited  and  a  terrific  explo- 
sion rent  the  ship  into  fragments  and  her  de- 
struction was  complete.  Nelson,  who  was  then 
blockading  Toulon,  declared  this  "  the  most  bold 


46  The  American  Navy 

and  daring  act  of  the  age,"  and  Congress 
manifested  its  high  appreciation  of  Decatur's 
bravery  by  promoting  Lieutenant  Decatur  two 
grades,  to  Captain,  and  voting  him  a  sword  of 
honor. 

After  this  successful  raid,  the  Mastico,  under 
Decatur,  was  taken  into  the  service  and  very 
appropriately  called  the  Intrepid,  but  her  career 
under  our  flag  was  to  be  brief.  A  month  later 
Preble  decided  to  send  her  into  the  harbor  as 
a  floating  mine,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying 
the  Tripolitan  gunboats.  In  charge  of  Master- 
Commandant  Richard  Somers,  the  Intrepid  was 
filled  with  powder,  explosive  shells,  and  com- 
bustibles, and  with  three  officers,  Somers,  Mid- 
shipman Henry  Wadsworth  (an  uncle  of  the 
poet  Longfellow),  and  Joseph  Israel,  with  a  crew 
of  ten  men,  she  ran  in  on  the  night  of  September 
4,  1804,  with  a  fine  leading  breeze.  Unfortu- 
nately the  ketch  grounded  on  the  rocks  at  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor,  where  she  was  im- 
mediately attacked  by  three  Tripolitan  gunboats, 
and  in  pursuance  of  his  avowed  intention  not 
to  be  taken  alive,  it  is  believed  that  Somers 
fired  the  magazine  of  his  vessel,  blowing  her 
up  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies. 

Although  this  attempt  to  destroy  the  Tripoli- 
tan  gunboats  failed,  Captain  Preble  vigorously 
continued  his  bombardment  of  the  fortifications, 
and  on  August  3d  sent  in  the  six  gunboats  with 
the  Enterprise,  covered  by  the  fire  of  the  Con- 


The  "Lucky  Little  'Enterprise"      47 

stitution,  to  destroy  the  Bashaw's  gunboats  and 
galleys  in  the  harbor. 

The  terrace  of  the  Bashaw's  palace  was 
crowded  with  spectators  to  behold  the  chastise- 
ment the  Bashaw's  gunboats  would  give  the 
Americans  if  they  approached  too  near.  But 
soon  the  shells  from  our  flotilla  began  to  fall  in 
the  town,  and  the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  suburbs, 
while  the  Bashaw  retreated  to  his  bomb-proof 
room. 

This  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  stubborn 
fights  of  the  war,  a  hand-to-hand  combat  that 
in  its  various  exhibitions  of  desperate  personal 
courage  recalls  the  feats  of  the  paladins  of  old. 
Stephen  Decatur,  who  led  the  second  of  the  two 
divisions,  with  three  gunboats,  kept  to  wind- 
ward and  closed  with  one  of  the  eastern  divi- 
sions of  nine  Tripolitan  gunboats,  boarding  one 
of  them  with  only  fifteen  men.  The  captain  of 
this  vessel,  a  large,  powerful  man,  was  singled 
out  by  Decatur,  who  charged  him  with  a  board- 
ing pike,  but  the  Turk  seized  the  weapon, 
wrested  it  from  his  assailant's  hands,  and  turned 
the  pike  against  its  owner.  Decatur  drew  his 
sword,  parried  the  thrust,  and  made  a  blow  at 
the  pike,  with  a  view  of  cutting  off  its  head, 
but  his  sword  hit  the  iron  and  broke  at  the 
hilt,  leaving  Decatur  helpless.  As  the  Turk 
made  another  thrust  with  the  pike,  the  gallant 
American  partially  averted  it  with  his  arm,  but 
received  the  point  in  the  flesh  of  one  breast. 


48  The  American  Navy 

Pushing  the  iron  from  the  wound,  Decatur 
sprang  within  the  weapon  and  grappled  his  an- 
tagonist, the  pike  falling  between  them.  The 
Turk's  muscular  strength,  however,  overcame 
the  American  and  he  fell  across  the  gunnel  of 
the  boat.  In  this  position  Decatur  managed  to 
draw  a  small  pistol  from  the  pocket  of  his  waist- 
coat, passed  the  arm  that  was  free  around  the 
body  of  the  Turk,  pointed  the  muzzle  in  and 
fired.  The  ball  passed  entirely  through  the 
body  of  the  Mussulman  and  lodged  in  Decatur's 
clothing.  At  the  same  instant  he  felt  the  grasp 
of  his  foe  relax  and  he  was  liberated. 

During  this  mele^e  a  sergeant  of  marines  in- 
terposed between  his  commander  and  another 
Turk,  who  was  about  to  cleave  Lieutenant  De- 
catur's skull,  receiving  the  sabre  stroke  on  his 
own  arm,  which  was  nearly  severed  by  the  blow. 
By  this  time  the  other  thirteen  Americans  had 
overcome  the  thirty-one  Tripolitans,  and  hauled 
down  the  colors  of  the  gunboat. 

Decatur  left  her  in  charge  of  Lieutenant 
McDonough  and  eight  men,  and  laid  another 
Tripolitan  gunboat  on  board,  carrying  her,  also, 
after  a  desperate  engagement  of  a  few  minutes. 
These  two  captured  boats  had  thirty-three  men 
killed  and  twenty-seven  were  made  prisoners, 
nineteen  of  them  wounded. 

Lieutenant  Trippe  had  an  equally  exciting  ex- 
perience. He  boarded  a  Tripolitan  boat  with 
only  Midshipman  Jonathan  Henley  and  nine 


The  "Lucky  Little  'Enterprise"      49 

men,  his  boat  falling  off  from  alongside  before 
any  more  could  join  him.  He  was  thus  left  to 
conquer  thirty-six  men  with  only  eleven.  For 
a  time  the  victory  seemed  doubtful.  Trippe  re- 
ceived eleven  sabre  wounds,  some  of  them  dan- 
gerous. The  blade  of  his  sword  bending,  he,  like 
Decatur,  also  closed  with  his  antagonist  and 
both  fell.  In  the  struggle  Trippe  wrested  the 
Turk's  sword  from  him,  and  with  it  stabbed  his 
antagonist  to  the  heart.  After  fourteen  of  the 
Tripolitans  had  been  killed,  the  surviving 
twenty-two  surrendered  to  the  eleven  Ameri- 
cans, and  the  gallant  Trippe  brought  his 
captured  gunboat  off  in  triumph. 

Lieutenant  Somers,  not  able  to  fetch  far 
enough  to  windward  to  co-operate  with  Decatur, 
fell  upon  the  leeward  division  of  the  enemy,  and 
with  his  single  boat  attacked  five  full-manned 
Tripolitan  boats  within  pistol-shot.  After  a  des- 
perate fight  he  defeated  and  drove  them,  in  a 
shattered  condition  and  with  the  loss  of  many 
men,  to  seek  refuge  under  the  cover  of  the  rocks. 

Lieutenant  James  Decatur  (brother  to 
Stephen)  engaged  one  of  the  larger  Tripolitan 
gunboats.  After  losing  a  greater  part  of  her 
men  she  surrendered,  but  as  James  Decatur 
stepped  on  board  of  his  prize,  the  Turkish  cap- 
tain treacherously  shot  him  through  the  head,, 
and  she  escaped  while  the  Americans  were  re- 
covering the  body  of  their  unfortunate  com- 
mander. 


50  The  American  Navy 

The  result  of  this  fight  was  the  capture  of 
three  gunboats,  and  the  destruction  of  three 
others.  The  Americans  also  brought  off  one  hun- 
dred and  three  prisoners,  beside  leaving  many 
killed  and  wounded,  while  our  loss  was  only 
fourteen  killed  and  wounded. 

The  attacks  upon  the  fortifications  at  Tri- 
poli were  continued  by  Preble,  but  the  resist- 
ance of  the  enemy  was  very  stubborn.  As 
winter  was  coming  on,  the  Enterprise  and  sev- 
eral of  the  smaller  vessels  of  the  fleet  were  sent 
to  Syracuse,  while  Captain  Preble  returned  to 
the  United  States  in  the  John  Adams,  being  re- 
lieved in  command  of  the  station  by  Captain 
Samuel  Barron,  who  came  in  the  frigate  Presi- 
dent in  September,  1804. 

The  results  of  Captain  Treble's  operations 
before  Tripoli,  up  to  this  time,  had  been  highly 
satisfactory,  and  very  great  damage  had  been 
inflicted  upon  the  enemy.  The  Pope  made  a 
public  declaration  at  this  time  that  "  the  United 
States,  though  in  their  infancy,  had  in  this  af- 
fair done  more  to  humble  the  Antichristian  bar- 
barians on  that  coast,  than  all  the  European 
states  had  accomplished  for  a  long  series  of 
years." 

In  the  spring  of  1805,  the  American  fleet  hav- 
ing meanwhile  been  greatly  increased,  active 
operations  were  again  begun,  with  such  success 
that  by  June  3d  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed 
by  which  the  Bashaw  relinquished  all  claim  to 


The  "Lucky  Little  'Enterprise'       51 

further  tribute  and  exchanged  the  American 
prisoners  from  the  Philadelphia  for  the  Tuni- 
sian prisoners  held  by  our  forces,  and  the  long 
war  honorably  ended.  The  American  fleet  then 
returned  home,  and  the  Enterprise  was  laid  up 
in  ordinary.  Congress  voted  a  gold  medal  to 
Commodore  Preble,  and  swords  to  the  officers 
of  his  squadron. 

In  June,  1812,  war  was  declared  with  Great 
Britain.  An  effort  wras  at  once  made  to  re- 
habilitate our  Navy,  and  the  Enterprise,  trans- 
formed from  a  schooner  into  a  brig,  was  armed 
with  fourteen  eighteen-pounder  cannonades,  and 
two  long  nine-pounders,  writh  a  crew  of  one  hun- 
dred men.  Master-Commandant  Thomas  Blakely 
was  put  in  command,  with  orders  to  look  out 
for  English  privateers  on  the  coast  of  Maine, 
as  twelve  years  before  the  Enterprise  had  been 
sent  to  the  West  Indies  after  French  free- 
booters. 

With  her  usual  good  luck  the  little  vessel  was 
not  long  in  finding  a  quarry,  and  in  August, 
1813,  she  captured  the  privateer  Fly.  Soon 
after,  Lieutenant  William  Burrows,  a  very  gal- 
lant young  officer  who  had  served  with  Preble 
in  the  Constitution  during  the  Tripolitan  war, 
was  ordered  to  command  the  Enterprise,  and  on 
September  1st  he  sailed  from  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  in  quest  of  several  privateers  that 
had  been  reported  in  the  vicinity  of  Monhegan, 
Maine. 


52  The  American  Navy 

On  September  4th,  while  near  Pernaquid 
Point,  Maine,  Burrows  sighted  a  brig  at  anchor 
in  a  small  inlet,  which  he  recognized  as  a  vessel 
of  war,  and  which  proved  to  be  H.  B.  M.  Boxer. 
He  at  once  cleared  ship  for  action,  and  hoisted 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  at  the  peak  and  at 
each  masthead.  The  British  brig  leisurely  got 
under  way,  fired  several  guns,  and  stood  out 
seaward,  with  her  colors  also  flying  from  each 
masthead. 

While  the  two  vessels  were  standing  out,  the 
Enterprise  leading,  Lieutenant  Burrows  directed 
that  one  of  the  long  nines  should  be  brought 
aft  and  run  out  of  a  stern  port  in  the  poop 
cabin.  As  it  was  found  that  some  of  the  fix- 
tures interfered  with  the  attainment  of  a  proper 
elevation  on  the  gun,  the  captain  called  the 
carpenter  with  his  broad-axe  to  cut  away  the 
woodwork.  This  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  crew,  many  of  whom  had  been  in  the  Enter- 
prise for  some  time,  and  they  got  the  idea  that 
Burrows  was  arranging  to  run  from  the  Eng- 
lishman and  use  the  stern  chaser  in  defence. 
It  was  not  until  the  first  lieutenant  relieved 
their  minds  on  this  point  by  the  promise  of  a 
speedy  fight  with  the  enemy,  that  entire  harmony 
was  restored. 

At  3  P.M.,  Burrows,  having  completed  his 
preparations,  shortened  sail,  tacked,  and  edged 
away  toward  the  Boxer,  the  two  vessels  ap- 
proaching on  different  tacks.  At  3.20  they  both 


S  1 


The  " Lucky  Little  'Enterprise'        53 

kept  away,  and  as  they  ranged  alongside,  the 
Enterprise  opened  with  her  starboard  and  the 
Boxer  with  her  port  guns.  The  Enterprise  drew 
ahead,  keeping  up  her  fire,  and  as  she  passed 
the  Boxer's  bow  the  helm  was  put  astarboard 
and  she  sheered  across  the  Englishman's  fore- 
foot, delivering  the  fire  of  the  long  nine,  which 
had  been  run  out  of  the  cabin  window,  twice 
at  half  pistol-shot  distance,  with  telling  effect. 
The  Boxer  then  kept  away  and  drew  up  on  the 
quarter  of  the  Enterprise,  both  vessels  exchang- 
ing broadsides,  but  the  American  brig,  keeping 
ahead  of  her  antagonist,  again  sheered  across 
the  Boxer's  fore-foot,  and  again  raked  her  with 
the  long  nine.  At  this  time  the  Englishman's 
maintopmast  came  down,  bringing  with  it  the 
topsail  yard,  and  the  Enterprise  holding  her 
position  continued  the  raking  fire.  Very  early 
in  the  action  Lieutenant  Burrows  had  been 
mortally  wounded  by  a  musket-ball,  but  the 
brave  fellow  had  refused  to  be  taken  below,  and 
throughout  the  action  he  was  stretched  on  deck 
with  a  hammock  beneath  his  head.  As  he  fell 
he  cried  to  his  first  lieutenant,  "  Never  strike 
that  flag ! "  Lieutenant  Edward  McCall,  who 
assumed  command,  had  never  before  been  in 
action,  but  he  proved  fully  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion and  fought  and  manoeuvred  the  vessel  with 
great  skill.  At  4  P.M.,  the  fire  of  the  enemy 
ceased  and  a  voice  was  heard  hailing,  "  We  have 
surrendered." 


54  The  American  Navy 

"  Why  don't  you  haul  down  your  colors? " 
returned  McCall  through  his  trumpet. 

"  We  can't,  sir ;  they  are  nailed  to  the  mast," 
was  the  reply. 

A  boat  was  lowered,  and  McCall,  boarding 
the  Boxer,  found  that  her  commander,  Captain 
Samuel  Blyth,  had  been  killed  at  the  first  broad- 
side from  the  Enterprise,  and  that,  in  all,  the 
English  had  twenty-eight  killed  and  fourteen 
wounded,  while  the  Enterprise  had  but  one 
killed  and  thirteen  wounded,  three  of  whom, 
however,  died  the  next  day. 

Captain  Blyth,  who  was  a  very  gallant  officer, 
equally  noted  for  his  gentleness  and  humanity, 
had  been  one  of  the  pall-bearers  a  few  weeks 
before  in  Halifax  at  the  funeral  of  Captain  Law- 
rence of  the  Chesapeake.  Stimulated  by  the 
good  fortune  of  Captain  Broke  of  the  Shannon, 
Blyth  had  sailed  in  the  Boxer  in  search  of  the 
Enterprise,  expressing  his  determination  to 
"  lead  another  Yankee  into  Halifax  harbor." 

When  Lieutenant  McCall  returned  to  the 
Enterprise,  he  at  once  brought  Blyth's  sword 
to  Burrows,  who  was  still  stretched  out  on  deck 
where  he  had  fallen.  As  the  young  commander 
grasped  the  sword  in  both  his  hands  and  pressed 
it  to  his  breast  he  murmured,  "  I  am  satisfied." 
Soon  after  his  body  was  laid  out  in  his  own 
cabin,  covered  with  the  flag  for  which  he  had 
given  up  his  life,  "  a  smile  on  his  lips,"  as  one 
of  his  officers  wrote  to  his  wife. 


COMMODORE  WILLIAM  BAINBRIDQE,  U.S.N. 
From  the  painting  by  Gilbert  Stuart 


The  " Lucky  Little  'Enterprise'        55 

An  extract  from  a  letter  from  Commodore 
Hull  to  Commodore  Bainbridge,  dated  Sep- 
tember 10,  1813,  is  of  special  interest,  as  it  gives 
the  testimony  of  an  intelligent  personal  witness. 
Hull  says: 

I  yesterday  visited  the  two  brigs,  and  was  as- 
tonished to  see  the  difference  of  injury  received  in 
the  action.  The  Enterprise  has  but  one  eighteen- 
pound  shot  in  her  hull,  one  in  her  mainmast,  and 
one  in  her  foremast;  her  sails  are  much  cut  by 
grape-shot,  but  no  injury  was  done. 

The  Boxer  has  eighteen  or  twenty  eighteen-pound 
shot  in  her  hull,  most  of  them  at  the  water's  edge; 
several  stands  of  grape-shot  in  her  side,  and  such 
a  quantity  of  smaller  grape  that  I  did  n't  under- 
take to  count  them.  Her  masts,  sails,  and  spars 
are  literally  cut  to  pieces;  several  of  her  guns  are 
dismounted  and  unfit  for  service.  To  give  an  idea, 
I  inform  you  that  I  counted  in  her  mainmast  alone 
three  eighteen-pound  shot  holes. 

I  find  it  impossible  to  get  at  the  number  killed, 
as  no  papers  are  found  by  which  we  can  ascertain 
it.  I,  however,  counted  upwards  of  ninety  ham- 
mocks that  were  in  her  nettings,  besides  several 
beds  without  hammocks.  I  have  no  doubt  that  she 
carried  one  hundred  men  on  board. 

The  exact  number  on  board  the  Enterprise 
was  one  hundred  and  two. 

On  September  7th,  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Enterprise  at  Portland  with  her  prize,  the  bodies 
of  the  two  commanders  were  brought  on  shore 


$6  The  American  Navy 

in  ten-oared  barges,  rowed  at  minute  strokes  by 
masters  of  ships,  and  accompanied  by  a  proces- 
sion of  almost  all  the  barges  and  boats  in  the 
harbor.  Minute  guns  were  fired  from  the  ves- 
sels, the  same  military  ceremony  was  performed 
over  each  body,  and  the  cortege  moved  through 
the  streets,  preceded  by  the  selectmen  and  muni- 
cipal officers,  and  guarded  by  the  officers  and 
crew  of  the  Enterprise  and  Boxer.  Captains 
Burrows  and  Blyth  were  buried  side  by  side  in 
the  Portland  cemetery,  where  their  tombs  may 
still  be  seen. 

THE    "  ALLIANCE  "    CAPTURES    THE    "  ATLANTA  " 
AND   THE   "  TREPASSY  " 

In  February,  1781,  Captain  John  Barry  sailed 
from  Boston  for  France  in  the  Alliance,  32,  with 
Colonel  Laurens  on  board,  charged  with  an  im- 
portant mission  to  the  French  Court.  On  the 
passage  over  she  took  a  British  privateer  and, 
after  landing  her  passengers,  in  company  with 
the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  captured  the  priva- 
teers Mars,  twenty-six  guns,  and  Minerva,  ten 
guns.  After  parting  with  her  consort,  the  Alli- 
ance continued  her  cruise  and  on  the  28th  of 
May  two  sails  were  made  out  standing  directly 
for  her. 

It  was  late  in  the  day,  and  the  strangers,  when 
near  enough  to  remain  in  sight  during  the  dark- 
ness, hauled  up  on  the  same  course  as  the  Alii- 


The  "  Lucky  Little  'Enterprise'       57 

ance,  evidently  with  a  view  to  defer  the  action 
till  morning.  At  daylight  the  next  day,  it  was 
nearly  a  dead  calm,  and  when  the  mist  cleared 
away,  the  strangers  were  seen  at  no  great  dis- 
tance with  English  colors  flying.  They  were  a 
sloop-of-war  of  sixteen  guns  and  a  brig  of  four- 
teen guns.  The  sea  was  perfectly  smooth,  and 
there  being  no  wind,  the  two  light  cruisers  were 
enabled  to  sweep  up,  and  to  select  their  posi- 
tions, while  the  Alliance  lay  almost  a  log  on 
the  water,  without  steerage-way.  Owing  to 
these  circumstances  it  was  noon  before  the  ves- 
sels were  near  enough  to  hail,  when  the  action 
at  once  began. 

For  more  than  an  hour  the  Alliance  fought 
to  great  disadvantage,  the  enemy  having  taken 
position  on  her  quarters,  where  only  a  few  of 
the  aftermost  guns  would  bear  on  them.  The  ad- 
vantage possessed  by  the  English  vessels  in  con- 
sequence of  the  calm,  at  one  time  indeed  gave 
the  enemy  the  greatest  hopes  of  success,  for  they 
had  the  fight  mainly  to  themselves.  While  mat- 
ters were  in  this  state,  Captain  Barry  received 
a  grape-shot  in  the  shoulder  and  was  carried 
below.  This  added  to  the  disheartening  condi- 
tion of  the  Americans  and  the  enemy  seemed 
entirely  confident  of  success. 

Just  at  this  time  the  ensign  of  the  Alliance 
was  shot  away,  whereupon  the  British  left  their 
guns  and  gave  three  cheers  for  victory;  but  at 
the  same  moment  a  light  breeze  struck  the 


58  The  American  Navy 

Alliance,  she  came  under  steerage-way,  and  a 
thundering  broadside  from  her  starboard  battery 
sent  the  enemy  again  to  their  guns.  Thus  the 
entire  condition  of  things  was  changed,  and  after 
a  manly  resistance  both  the  English  ships  were 
compelled  to  haul  down  their  colors.  The  prizes 
proved  to  be  the  Atlanta,  16,  Captain  Edwards, 
with  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  and  the  Tre- 
passy,  14,  Captain  Smith,  with  eighty  men. 
Both  vessels  were  much  cut  up  and  had  con- 
jointly sustained  a  loss  of  forty-one  men  killed 
and  wounded.  The  Alliance  lost  eleven  killed 
and  twenty-one  wounded.  Captain  Barry  made 
a  cartel  of  the  Trepassy  and  sent  her  into  an 
English  port  with  the  prisoners,  but  the  At- 
lanta was  unfortunately  retaken  by  the  enemy's 
squadron  off  Boston  harbor. 

THE    "  CONSTELLATION  "    AND    "  INSURGENTS  " 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1799  the  frigate 
Constellation,  Commodore  Thomas  Truxton, 
mounting  forty-eight  guns,  was  cruising  in  the 
West  Indies.  About  noon  of  February  9th,  the 
island  of  Nevis  being  fifteen  miles  distant, 
the  Constellation  sighted  a  ship  to  the  south- 
ward, which  proved  to  be  the  French  frigate 
Insurgente,  36,  Captain  Barreant.  Hoisting  his 
colors,  Commodore  Truxton  bore  down  and  the 
French  commander,  after  first  setting  American 
colors,  showed  the  French  ensign,  and  fired  a 


The  "  Lucky  Little  '  Enterprise  '        59 

gun  to  windward,  by  way  of  challenge,  keeping 
meanwhile  under  easy  sail. 

At  1.15  P.M.  the  French  ship  hailed,  and,  as 
the  Constellation  ranged  alongside,  both  ships 
opened  fire,  and  a  very  spirited  action  imme- 
diately ensued.  The  French  fired  high,  evi- 
dently intending  to  cut  up  the  Constellation 
aloft,  and  her  sails  and  rigging  consequently 
suffered  severely.  The  foretop-mast  was  badly 
damaged  near  the  lower  cap,  and  young  Mid- 
shipman David  Porter,  who  was  stationed  in  the 
foretop,  finding  that  he  could  not  make  himself 
heard  on  deck,  cut  the  stoppers  and  lowered  the 
yard,  thus  preventing  the  fall  of  the  top-mast. 

Meanwhile  the  Constellation's  fire  was  telling, 
and  she  soon  forged  ahead  of  the  French  ship, 
and,  crossing  her  bow,  poured  in  a  terrific  raking 
fire.  Then  taking  position  on  her  starboard 
bow,  Truxton  held  his  place  fully  an  hour,  re- 
ceiving and  pouring  in  broadsides,  wrhen  he  drew 
out  of  the  thick  smoke  of  battle,  wore  round 
and,  hauling  across  the  stern  of  the  French 
frigate,  was  just  about  to  rake  her  again  with 
his  whole  broadside,  when  at  3.30  P.M.  she  struck 
her  colors. 

Lieutenant  Rodgers  and  Midshipman  David 
Porter,  with  eleven  men,  were  at  once  sent  on 
board  the  prize  to  take  possession  and  super- 
intend the  removal  of  the  prisoners.  After  re- 
moving the  dead,  caring  for  the  wounded,  and 
transferring  about  half  the  prisoners,  it  came 


60  The  American  Navy 

on  to  blow  heavily,  darkness  set  in,  and  the 
ships  became  separated.  Lieutenant  Rodgers 
now  found  himself  in  a  very  precarious  posi- 
tion, in  charge  of  a  disabled  ship  and  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  able-bodied  prisoners, 
who  were  already  showing  a  disposition  to  rise 
on  their  thirteen  captors. 

The  gratings  for  the  hatchways  had  been 
thrown  overboard,  and  Mr.  Kodgers  could  find 
no  handcuffs,  but,  being  a  man  of  great  personal 
strength  and  indomitable  resolution,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  first  securing  the  firearms  from  the 
arm  chest,  and  afterward  in  driving  the  French- 
men down  into  the  lower  hold.  He  then  sta- 
tioned a  sentinel  at  each  hatchway  with  positive 
orders  to  shoot  any  man  who  should  attempt 
to  appear  on  deck. 

The  gale  lasted  three  days  and  nights  and 
during  all  that  time  Rodgers  and  young  Porter, 
with  their  eleven  men,  not  only  stood  guard  over 
their  prisoners,  but  handled  the  sails  of  their 
frigate,  and  when  the  weather  moderated  brought 
her  safely  into  St.  Kitts,  where  Commodore  Trux- 
ton  was  anxiously  awaiting  news  of  his  prize. 

The  American  loss  in  this  spirited  engagement 
was  only  one  killed  and  three  wounded,  while 
the  Insurgente  had  twenty-nine  killed  and  forty- 
one  wounded.  The  Insurgente  was  refitted, 
taken  into  our  service,  and,  under  Captain 
Alexander  Patrick  Fletcher,  sailed  on  a  cruise 
in  July,  1800,  and  was  never  afterward  heard  of. 


CHAPTER  IV 

JOHN    PAUL    JONES 

IN  dealing  with  the  romantic  features  in  the 
history  of  the  American  navy  the  very  re- 
markable record  of  Captain  John  Paul  Jones, 
that  reads,  throughout,  more  like  romance  than 
veritable  history,  demands  a  special  chapter. 
Born  July  6,  1747,  at  Arbigland,  on  the  north 
shore  of  Solway  Frith,  in  Scotland,  the  fifth 
child  of  John  Paul,  gardener  to  the  Honorable 
Robert  Craik,  the  lad,  after  receiving  a  limited 
education  at  the  parish  school  of  Kirkbean, 
made  his  first  voyage  to  sea,  before  he  was 
thirteen,  in  the  brig  Friendship,  bound  for 
the  Rappahannock  River.  John's  elder  brother, 
William,  had  married  and  settled  in  Virginia 
several  years  earlier  as  manager  of  the  estate 
of  his  adopted  father,  William  Jones.  As  John 
passed  some  time  with  his  brother  William,  on 
this  voyage,  while  the  brig  was  loading  with 
tobacco,  his  prepossessions  in  favor  of  America 
and  his  sympathy  with  colonial  sentiment  were 
naturally  fostered  by  his  associations. 

After  several  more  voyages,   in   which   John 
Paul  was  rapidly  advanced,  first  to  second  and 

61 


62  The  American  Navy 

then  to  chief  mate,  his  vessel,  the  King  George 
Packet,  was  put  into  the  slave  trade,  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa.  At  the  end  of  the  second 
voyage,  however,  the  young  man  declined  to 
make  a  second  adventure.  On  settling  up  his 
accounts  he  received  $5000.00  as  his  share  of 
the  profits  of  the  voyage.  Returning  to  Eng- 
land, he  soon  obtained  the  command  of  the  ship 
John.  In  1769  Jones  again  visited  the  Kappa- 
hannock  and  found  that  his  brother  William  had, 
upon  the  death  of  his  benefactor,  William  Jones, 
come  into  possession  of  the  Jones  estate,  which, 
by  the  terms  of  the  will  of  the  deceased,  was 
to  fall  to  John  Paul,  as  residuary  legatee,  at  the 
death  of  William,  provided  that  the  young  man 
then  assumed  the  name  of  John  Paul  Jones. 

For  several  years  John  continued  in  command 
of  his  ship,  an  indefatigable  student,  meanwhile, 
not  only  of  the  science  of  navigation  and  of 
maritime  matters  generally,  but  also  of  the 
French  and  Spanish  languages,  in  which  he  be- 
came so  proficient  that  in  after  years  he  readily 
made  himself  a  master  of  French  literature  dur- 
ing his  residence  on  the  continent.  His  brother 
died  of  lung  fever  in  1773  and  John  Paul  Jones, 
by  which  name  he  was  thereafter  known,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-eight  abandoned  the  sea  and  took 
up,  for  a  brief  period,  the  life  of  a  colonial 
planter,  on  an  estate  of  three  thousand  acres 
with  thirty  negroes. 

The  clouds  of  war,  however,  were  already  be- 


COMMODORE   JOHN   PAUL  JONES,    U.S.N. 
From  the  portrait  by  G.  W.  Peale 


John  Paul  Jones  63 

ginning  to  gather  about  the  colonies  and  at  a 
public  ball  in  Norfolk,  early  in  1774,  Jones  had 
an  affray  with  a  young  British  naval  officer 
who,  in  the  heat  of  discussion,  declared  that, 
in  case  of  a  revolt  in  the  colonies  the  in- 
surrection would  be  easily  suppressed,  if  the 
courage  of  the  colonial  men  was  on  a  par 
with  the  virtue  of  the  colonial  women.  Jones 
at  once  knocked  the  officer  down,  and,  after  his 
friends  had  removed  him  to  his  ship,  awaited 
a  demand  for  satisfaction,  meanwhile  selecting 
his  second  and  preparing  his  duelling  pistols. 
To  his  surprise,  however,  the  ship  sailed  for 
Charleston  and  nothing  further  was  heard  of 
Mr.  Parker,  the  English  lieutenant,  who  was  a 
relative  of  Admiral  Sir  Peter  Parker.  During 
that  winter  Paul  Jones  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Thomas  Jefferson,  Colonel  Washington,  and 
Philip  Livingston  of  New  York,  and  as  hostil- 
ities became  more  imminent  Jones  assured  these 
gentlemen  that  his  services  would  be  at  the 
disposal  of  the  colonies  whenever  they  might 
be  needed. 

While  in  New  York,  in  the  early  spring  of 
1775,  Jones  was  informed  by  William  Living- 
ston of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  news  of  which 
had  just  reached  that  city.  Jones  at  once  wrote 
to  Joseph  Hewes  begging  him  to  keep  his  name 
in  memory  when  Congress  took  any  provision 
for  creating  a  naval  force.  This  appeal  met 
with  a  ready  response  and  at  a  session  of  the 


64  The  American  Navy 

Naval  Committee  of  Congress,  held  June  24th, 
the  chairman  was  authorized  "  to  invite  John 
Paul  Jones,  Esquire,  gent,  of  Virginia,  Master 
Mariner,  to  lay  before  the  Committee  such  in- 
formation and  advice  as  may  seem  to  him  useful 
in  assisting  the  said  Committee  to  discharge  its 
labors."  As  a  result  of  this  meeting  Jones  was 
requested  to  act  as  a  member  of  a  commission 
of  experienced  persons  in  selecting  and  pur- 
chasing certain  vessels  for  Congress.  Robert 
Morris,  Nicholas  Biddle,  and  two  other  mer- 
chant captains  were  associated  with  Jones  and 
five  vessels  were  purchased  under  this  resolve, 
among  them  the  Alfred,  which  ship,  pierced  for 
sixteen  guns,  became  Commodore  Esek  Hopkins's 
flagship  with  Paul  Jones  as  first  lieutenant.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  dwell  upon  the  expedition  to 
the  island  of  New  Providence,  its  capture,  and 
the  fight  with  the  British  frigate  Glasgow,  in 
Long  Island  Sound,  of  which  contest  Jones,  in 
his  diary,  says :  "  I  took  my  share  of  the  dis- 
honor which  attended  the  first  essay  of  Ameri- 
can arms  by  sea  with  the  Glasgow."  It  was 
certainly  a  very  different  contest  from  that 
which  was  to  make  the  name  of  Paul  Jones 
illustrious  three  years  later,  when  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard  met  the  British  frigate  Serapis 
in  deadly  conflict  in  the  English  Channel. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1776,  Lieutenant  John 
Paul  Jones  was  ordered  by  Commodore  Hop- 
kins to  the  command  of  the  schooner  Providence, 


JACOB   JONES 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  Rembrandt  Peale 


John  Paul  Jones  65 

to  carry  to  New  York  two  hundred  soldiers  that 
had  been  lent  to  the  squadron  by  General  Wash- 
ington while  the  ships  were  short  of  men.  On 
August  8th,  Jones  received  his  commission  as 
captain  from  John  Hancock,  the  President  of 
Congress;  and  in  October  he  was  ordered  to 
command  the  Alfred,  and  sailed  in  company 
with  the  Providence  on  a  cruise  to  the  north- 
ward. Off  Louisburg  he  captured  the  Mellish, 
a  large  ship  bound  for  Quebec,  having  on  board 
eleven  thousand  stand  of  arms,  several  brass 
field-pieces,  and  over  ten  thousand  suits  of 
clothing  for  the  British  army.  He  also  cap- 
tured a  letter  of  marque  with  a  rich  cargo  for 
Liverpool,  in  addition  to  a  number  of  smaller 
prizes.  Jones  brought  the  Mellish  and  her 
valuable  cargo  safely  into  Dartmouth,  and  the 
welcome  news  of  this  bountiful  supply  of  cloth- 
ing for  his  ragged  army  reached  General  Wash- 
ington just  before  he  recrossed  the  Delaware 
and  won  the  battle  of  Trenton. 

On  May  9,  1777,  Jones  was  notified  by  the 
Marine  Committee  that  he  was  to  take  the 
Amphitrite,  a  French  ship  of  twenty  guns,  from 
Charleston  to  France,  where  he  was  to  assume 
command  "  of  one  of  those  fine  frigates  "  that 
Mr.  Deane  had  notified  Congress  could  be  pur- 
chased in  France.  But  these  orders  were  later 
superseded  by  others  giving  him  the  command 
of  the  Ranger,  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
where,  on  June  14,  1777,  Jones  hoisted  the  new 


66  The  American  Navy 

national  flag,  this  being  the  first  time  it  was 
displayed  on  board  a  man-of-war.  This  flag  had 
thirteen  stripes,  alternate  red  and  white,  with 
thirteen  white  stars  in  a  blue  field.  Twenty-six 
guns  were  provided  for  the  Ranger,  but  Jones 
only  mounted  eighteen  six-pounders,  as  the  ship 
was  very  crank. 

He  sailed  on  November  1st,  carrying  despatches 
that  gave  the  important  news  of  Burgoyne's  sur- 
render, and  arrived  at  Nantes  on  the  2d  of  De- 
cember, having  captured  two  brigantines  on  the 
voyage.  In  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  his  de- 
spatches, Jones  wrote,  "  I  will  spread  this  news 
in  France  in  thirty  days,"  and  he  came  so  near 
fulfilling  his  promise  that  on  the  thirty-second 
day  after  leaving  Portsmouth  he  landed  in 
Nantes. 

On  the  morning  of  December  5th,  Jones  placed 
his  despatches,  written  by  Washington  and 
Jefferson,  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Franklin  in  Paris. 
The  receipt  of  this  important  intelligence  in- 
duced King  Louis  XVI.  "  to  consider  favorably 
the  overtures  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States,"  and  it  was  hoped  that  our  Commission- 
ers would  be  permitted  to  fit  out  and  place  under 
the  command  of  Jones  the  fine  ship  Indien,  46, 
then  just  completed  at  Amsterdam.  The  British 
Minister  to  the  Netherlands,  however,  denounced 
the  vessel  to  the  States-General  as  an  American 
ship-of-war  in  disguise,  exactly  as  Mr.  Adams 
did  in  the  case  of  the  Laird  ram,  built  in  Liver- 


John  Paul  Jones  67 

pool  for  the  Confederate  government  in  1864; 
and  the  Indien  project  fell  through,  to  the  great 
disappointment  of  Captain  Jones. 

Jones  now  took  the  Ranger  from  Nantes  to 
L'Orient  and  fitted  her  out.  On  February  13, 
1778,  he  received  from  the  French  squadron  in 
the  outer  road  of  Brest  the  first  salute  from 
a  foreign  naval  power  ever  accorded  to  the 
American  flag.  On  April  10th,  the  Ranger 
sailed  from  Brest  for  the  west  coast  of  Ireland, 
but  the  second  day  out  a  westerly  gale  set  in 
and  Captain  Jones  decided  to  run  up  through 
St.  George's  Channel  into  the  Irish  Sea.  At 
Whitehaven  he  landed  on  April  22d,  and  after 
spiking  the  guns  in  the  two  small  forts,  which 
were  only  garrisoned  by  a  few  coast-guards,  he 
set  fire  to  several  ships  in  the  basin  and  sailed 
away  before  the  arrival  of  two  sloops-of-war  sent 
for  the  protection  of  the  place.  The  same  day, 
Jones  bore  up  for  the  north  shore  of  Solway 
Frith  and  made  his  famous  descent  on  St.  Mafy's 
Isle,  the  castle  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  hoping 
to  carry  off  the  Earl  and  hold  him  as  a  hostage 
for  the  better  treatment  of  American  prisoners 
then  in  England.  His  design  was  frustrated, 
however,  by  the  absence  of  the  Earl  from  the 
castle. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  23d,  the  Ranger 
stood  across  the  Irish  Channel,  and  the  next 
morning  Jones  learned  from  some  fishermen, 
whose  boats  he  picked  up  and  who  were  very 


68  The  American  Navy 

ready  to  give  the  desired  information,  that  the 
British  sloop-of-war  Drake,  Captain  Burden, 
the  guard-ship  at  Carrickfergus,  was  coming  out 
in  search  of  him.  Jones  had  looked  in  at 
Carrickfergus  on  the  21st,  and  had  the  wind 
served  would  have  attacked  the  Drake  at  that 
time.  "  So  now,"  as  he  says  in  his  journal,  "  to 
save  trouble  I  ran  down  again,  hove  to  off  the 
mouth  of  Belfast  Lough,  and  waited  for  the 
Drake  to  work  out,  which  saved  me  the  pain 
of  going  in  after  her."  As  the  Ranger  hove  to 
off  Carrickfergus  on  the  24th,  the  Drake  sent 
out  one  of  her  boats  to  reconnoitre,  and  Jones 
succeeded  in  decoying  this  boat  alongside  the 
Ranger  and  captured  the  midshipman  and  five 
men  that  formed  her  crew.  The  Drake,  with 
wind  and  tide  both  against  her,  worked  out  of 
port  slowly,  and  it  was  nearly  sundown  when 
she  got  within  hail.  The  Drake,  coming  up 
astern  of  the  Ranger,  hailed,  "  What  ship  is 
that?  "  Jones  answered,  "  The  American  Con- 
tinental ship  Ranger.  Come  on,  we  are  waiting 
for  you ! " 

Both  ships  fired,  almost  at  once,  the  Ranger 
a  trifle  the  first.  The  range  was  little  more 
than  that  of  musket-shot,  and  the  fire  of  the 
Americans  was  consequently  very  deadly.  The 
engagement  was  kept  up  for  nearly  an  hour, 
when,  the  Drake's  rigging  being  very  much  cut 
up,  her  fore-  and  main-topsail  yards  came  down 
on  the  caps,  and,  as  she  fell  off,  Jones  luffed 


John  Paul  Jones  69 

under  her  stern,  and  with  the  starboard  tacks  on 
board  came  into  a  position  to  rake  his  enemy, 
when  her  colors  were  at  once  struck  and  the 
Drake  was  surrendered  by  her  second  lieutenant, 
the  captain  and  first  lieutenant  having  been 
killed  during  the  engagement. 

The  Drake  was  a  new  ship,  less  than  three 
years  off  the  stocks,  mounting  twenty  guns, 
sixteen  nine-pounders,  and  four  four-pounders, 
with  a  complement  of  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  officers  and  men.  The  Ranger  had 
fourteen  nine-pounders  and  four  six-pounders, 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  officers  and 
men.  The  British  loss  was  nineteen  killed,  in- 
cluding the  captain  and  first  lieutenant,  and 
twenty-eight  officers  and  men  severely  wounded. 
The  Americans  lost  two  killed,  including  Lieu- 
tenant Wallingford,  and  six  wounded,  one  mor- 
tally. The  Drake  received  one  hundred  and 
seven  shot,  thirty-six  at  or  below  the  water-line; 
while  her  upper  works  were  wrecked,  five  guns 
dismounted,  her  standing  and  running  rigging 
much  damaged,  and  her  foremast  seriously 
weakened — a  striking  evidence  of  the  superior 
gunnery  of  the  Americans. 

Jones  now  continued  his  cruise  around  the 
west  coast  of  Ireland,  although  after  manning 
his  prize  he  had  but  eighty-six  officers  and  crew 
remaining  on  board  the  Ranger.  When  Jones 
appeared  off  Brest  on  the  evening  of  May  8th, 
the  French  frigate  Belle  Poule  stood  out  and 


70  The  American  Navy 

hailed,  "  Who  are  you,  and  what  is  your  prize?  " 
To  which  Jones  responded :  "  The  American 
Continental  ship  Ranger,  of  eighteen  guns,  Cap- 
tain Paul  Jones;  and  the  man-of-war  prize  is 
His  Britannic  Majesty's  late  ship  the  Drake,  of 
twenty  guns.  The  other  prize  a-lee  is  a  mer- 
chant ship,  not  armed." 

Jones  was  directed  to  anchor  for  the  night 
under  the  lee  of  Roscannel  Point,  and  the  next 
day  he  took  his  vessels  into  the  inner  harbor, 
where  his  prize  was  visited  by  hundreds  of 
officers  and  officials,  among  them  the  Due  de 
Chartres,  and  for  the  time  the  American  cap- 
tain was  the  hero  of  the  hour.  But  within  a 
month  his  troubles  began,  and  Jones  was  act- 
ually compelled  to  sell  his  prizes  to  provide 
means  for  paying  and  feeding  his  crew,  as 
his  draft  on  the  American  Commissioners  for 
24,000  livres  was  dishonored. 

At  last,  after  infinite  difficulty  and  no  end  of 
diplomatic  intrigue,  M.  de  Sartine,  in  a  letter 
to  Franklin,  stated  that  King  Louis  XVI.  had 
decided  to  purchase  and  put  at  the  disposition 
of  Captain  Jones  the  Duras,  an  old  high-poop 
Indiaman,  then  at  L'Orient.  To  the  Duras  were 
finally  added,  through  the  influence  of  the 
banker  M.  le  Bay  de  Chaumont,  four  other 
vessels — the  Pallas,  32,  and  the  Vengeance,  12; 
two  purchased  merchantmen;  the  Cerf,  a  large 
cutter,  and  the  Alliance,  32,  a  ship  built  for  war 
purposes. 


John  Paul  Jones  71 

The  Duras  originally  carried  her  guns  on  one 
deck,  with  a  certain  number  of  light  pieces  on 
the  quarter-deck  and  forecastle;  but  Jones  had 
twelve  ports  cut  in  the  gun-room  below,  where  he 
had  six  old  eighteen-pounders  mounted,  very  un- 
fortunately, as  it  subsequently  proved.  When 
ready  for  sea,  the  Duras,  renamed  the  Bon 
Homme  Richard,  in  honor  of  Dr.  Franklin, 
mounted  twenty-eight  twelve-pounders  on  the 
gun-deck,  eight  nine-pounders  on  the  forecastle 
and  the  quarter-deck,  and  six  eighteen-pounders 
below — making  forty-two  guns  in  all.  In  view 
of  the  desperate  fight  that  was  awaiting  him  on 
the  coming  cruise,  Jones  was  very  fortunate  in 
securing  for  the  Richard,  just  before  he  sailed, 
one  hundred  American  seamen,  who  had  mean- 
while been  exchanged  for  the  captured  crews  of 
the  Drake  and  other  British  ships.  With  this 
accession  he  had  one  hundred  and  fifty  sturdy 
Americans  in  his  crew. 

On  the  morning  of  August  31st,  the  west  coast 
of  the  Hebrides  being  abeam,  the  Richard  cap- 
tured the  British  letter-of-marque  Union,  mount- 
ing twenty-two  six-pounders,  laden  with  a  cargo 
of  naval  and  military  stores  for  the  British 
forces  in  Canada,  and  carrying  a  valuable  mail, 
including  despatches  from  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  Sir  Guy  Carleton  in  Canada,  and  Sir 
William  Howe  at  New  York. 

After  an  attempt,  rendered  ineffectual  by  a 
heavy  northwest  gale,  to  attack  the  port  of 


72  The  American  Navy 

Leith,  the  Richard  and  the  Pallas  worked  to  the 
southward,  and  on  the  22d  of  September,  Jones 
discovered  a  fleet  of  colliers  anchored  under  the 
lee  of  Spurm  Head,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Humber, 
under  convoy  of  a  frigate.  Just  before  dark, 
while  meditating  an  attack  on  the  fleet,  the  little 
Vengeance  ran  under  the  lee  of  the  Richard  and 
informed  Captain  Jones  that  the  Baltic  fleet 
had  put  into  Bridlington  Bay,  under  convoy,  and 
were  awaiting  a  shift  of  wind  to  enable  them 
to  fetch  the  Downs. 

Ordering  the  Vengeance  to  stand  down  to  the 
southward  and  eastward  and  notify  the  Alliance 
that  the  next  rendezvous  would  be  Flamborough 
Head,  Jones  laid  his  ship's  head  north-northeast, 
signalling  the  Pallas  to  keep  on  his  starboard 
quarter  and  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  Richard. 

In  the  morning,  both  the  American  ships  were 
out  of  sight  of  land,  and,  as  the  wind  was  light, 
they  were  all  the  forenoon  beating  up  for  Brid- 
lington Bay.  As  they  were  hauling  up  on  the 
starboard  tack,  the  whole  Baltic  fleet  came  run- 
ning out  before  the  wind,  for  Scarborough,  the 
two  convoys  covering  their  rear  and  flank. 

Jones  at  once  hauled  his  ship  up  to  the  wind 
in  the  endeavor  to  get,  if  possible,  between  the 
land  and  the  larger  ship,  and,  as  the  breeze 
was  light,  the  whole  afternoon  was  consumed 
in  accomplishing  this  manoeuvre;  but  by  sun- 
down he  had  succeeded  in  getting  into  the  desired 
position. 


John  Paul  Jones  73 

The  vivid  extract  that  follows  describing  the 
dramatic  battle  between  the  Bon  Homme  Richard 
and  the  Serapis,  famous  in  American  history, 
is  taken  from  Herman  Melville's  Israel  Potter, 
or  Fifty  Tears  Exile. 

As  the  ships  neared,  a  hazy  darkness  overspread 
the  water.  The  moon  was  not  yet  risen.  Objects 
were  perceived  with  difficulty.  Borne  by  a  soft  moist 
breeze  over  the  gentle  waves,  they  came  within 
pistol-shot.  Owing  to  the  obscurity,  and  the  well- 
known  neighborhood  of  other  vessels,  the  Serapis 
was  uncertain  who  the  Richard  was.  Through  the 
dim  mist  each  ship  loomed  forth  to  the  other  vast, 
but  indistinct,  as  the  ghost  of  Morven.  Sounds  of 
the  tramping  of  resolute  men  echoed  from  either 
hull,  whose  tight  decks  dully  resounded  like  drum- 
heads in  a  funeral  march. 

The  Serapis  hailed  twice.  At  the  instant  of  the 
second  hail,  she  was  answered  by  a  broadside.  For 
half  an  hour  the  combatants  deliberately  manoeu- 
vred, continually  changing  their  position,  but  al- 
ways within  shot  fire.  The  Serapis — the  better 
sailer  of  the  two — kept  critically  circling  the 
Richard — making  lounging  advances  now  and  then, 
and  as  suddenly  steering  off;  hate  causing  her  to 
act  not  unlike  a  wheeling  cock  about  a  hen,  when 
stirred  by  the  contrary  passion.  Meanwhile,  though 
within  easy  speaking  distance,  no  further  syllable 
was  exchanged;  but  an  incessant  cannonade  was 
kept  up. 

At  this  point,  a  third  party,  the  Scarborough, 
drew  near,  seemingly  desirous  of  giving  assistance 


74  The  American  Navy 

to  her  consort.  But  thick  smoke  was  now  added 
to  the  night's  natural  obscurity.  The  Scarborough 
imperfectly  discerned  two  ships,  and  plainly  saw 
the  cannon  fire  they  made;  but  which  was  which, 
she  could  not  tell.  Eager  to  befriend  the  Serapis, 
she  durst  not  fire  a  gun,  lest  she  might  unwittingly 
act  the  part  of  a  foe.  As  when  a  hawk  and  a  crow 
are  clawing  and  beaking  high  in  the  air,  a  second 
crow,  flying  near,  will  seek  to  join  the  battle,  but, 
finding  no  fair  chance  to  engage,  at  last  flies  away 
to  the  woods,  just  so  did  the  Scarborough  now. 
Prudence  dictated  the  step;  because  several  chance 
shot — from  which  of  the  combatants  could  not  be 
known — had  already  struck  the  Scarborough.  So 
unwilling  uselessly  to  expose  herself,  off  went  for 
the  present  this  baffled  and  ineffectual  friend.  .  .  . 
Through  this  sardonical  mist  the  face  of  the  Man- 
in-the-Moon — looking  right  toward  the  combatants, 
as  if  he  were  standing  in  a  trap-door  of  the 
sea,  leaning  forward  leisurely  with  his  arms  com- 
placently folded  over  upon  the  edge  of  the  horizon. 
— this  queer  face  wore  a  serious,  apishly  self- 
satisfied  leer,  as  if  the  Man-in-the-Moon  had  some- 
how secretly  put  up  the  ships  to  their  contest,  and 
in  the  depths  of  his  malignant  old  soul  was  not 
unpleased  to  see  how  well  his  charms  worked.  There 
stood  the  grinning  Man-in-the-Moon,  his  head  just 
dodging  into  view  over  the  rim  of  the  sea : — 
Mephistopheles  prompter  of  the  stage. 

Aided  now  a  little  by  the  planet,  one  of  the  con- 
sorts of  the  Richard,  the  Pallas,  hovering  far  out- 
side the  fight,  dimly  discerned  the  suspicious  form 
of  a  lonely  vessel  unknown  to  her.  She  resolved  to 
engage  it  if  it  proved  to  be  a  foe.  But  ere  they 


John  Paul  Jones  75 

joined,  the  unknown  ship — which  proved  to  be  the 
Scarborough — received  a  broadside  at  long  gun's 
distance  from  another  consort  of  the  Richard,  the 
Alliance.  The  shot  whizzed  across  the  broad  in- 
terval like  shuttlecocks  across  a  great  hall.  Pre- 
sently the  battledores  of  both  batteries  were  at 
work  and  rapid  compliments  of  shuttlecocks  were 
very  promptly  exchanged.  The  adverse  consorts  of 
the  two  main  belligerents  fought  with  all  the  rage 
of  those  fiery  seconds  who  in  some  desperate  duels 
make  their  principal's  quarrel  their  own.  Diverted 
from  the  Richard  and  the  Serapis  by  this  little 
by-play,  the  Man-in-the-Moon,  all  eager  to  see  what 
it  was,  somewhat  raised  himself  from  his  trap-door 
with  an  added  grin  on  his  face.  By  this  time,  off 
sneaked  the  Alliance,  and  down  swept  the  Pallas,  at 
close  quarters  engaging  the  Scarborough;  an  en- 
counter destined  in  less  than  an  hour  to  end  in  the 
latter  ship's  striking  her  flag. 

Compared  to  the  Serapis  and  the  Richard,  the 
Pallas  and  the  Scarborough  were  as  two  pages  to 
two  knights.  In  their  immature  way  they  showed 
the  same  traits  as  their  fully  developed  superiors. 

Thus  far  the  Serapis  and  the  Richard  had  been 
manoeuvring  and  chasseing  to  each  other  like  part- 
ners in  a  cotillion,  all  the  time  indulging  in  rapid 
repartee. 

But  finding  at  last  that  the  superior  manageable- 
ness  of  the  enemy's  ship  enabled  him  to  get  the 
better  of  the  clumsy  old  Indiaman  the  Richard, 
in  taking  position,  Paul,  with  his  wonted  resolution, 
at  once  sought  to  neutralize  this  by  hugging  him 
close.  But  the  attempt  to  lay  the  Richard  right 
across  the  head  of  the  Serapis  ended  quite  other- 


76  The  American  Navy 

wise,  in  sending  the  enemy's  jib-boom  just  over  the 
Richard's  great  tower  of  Pisa,1  where  Israel  was 
stationed;  who,  catching  it  eagerly,  stood  for  an 
instant  holding  to  the  slack  of  the  sail,  like  one 
grasping  a  horse  by  the  mane  prior  to  vaulting  into 
the  saddle. 

"  Aye,  hold  hard,  lad,"  cried  Paul  springing  to 
his  side  with  a  coil  of  rigging.  With  a  few  rapid 
turns  he  knitted  himself  to  his  foe.  The  wind  now 
acting  on  the  sails  of  the  Serapis  forced  her,  heel 
and  point,  her  entire  length,  cheek  by  jowl,  along- 
side the  Richard.  The  projecting  cannon  scraped; 
the  yards  interlocked;  but  the  hulls  did  not  touch. 
A  long  lane  of  darkling  water  lay  wedged  between, 
like  that  narrow  canal  in  Venice  which  dozes  be- 
tween the  shadowy  piles,  and  high  in  air  is  secretly 
crossed  by  the  Bridge  of  Sighs.  But  where  the 
six  yard-arms  reciprocally  arched  overhead,  three 
bridges  were  both  seen  and  heard,  as  the  moon  and 
wind  kept  rising. 

Into  that  Lethean  canal — pond-like  in  its  smooth- 
ness as  compared  with  the  sea  without — fell  many 
a  poor  soul  that  night;  fell,  forever  forgotten. 

As  some  heaving  rent  coinciding  with  a  disputed 
frontier  on  a  volcanic  plain,  that  boundary  abyss 
was  the  jaws  of  death  to  both  sides.  So  contracted 
was  it,  that  in  many  cases  the  gun-rammers  had 
to  be  thrust  into  the  opposite  ports,  in  order  to 
enter  the  muzzles  of  their  own  cannon.  It  seemed 
more  an  intestine  feud  than  a  fight  between 
strangers.  Or  rather  it  was  as  if  the  Siamese 
Twins,  oblivious  of  their  fraternal  bond,  should  rage 
in  unnatural  fight. 

1  The  poop. 


John  Paul  Jones  77 

Ere  long  a  horrible  explosion  was  heard,  drown- 
ing for  an  instant  the  cannonade.  Two  of  the  old 
eighteen-pounders  before  spoken  of  as  having  been 
hurriedly  set  up  below  the  main  deck  of  the  Richard 
burst  all  to  pieces,  killing  the  sailors  who  worked 
them,  and  shattering  all  that  part  of  the  hull,  as 
if  two  exploded  steam-boilers  had  shot  out  of  its 
opposite  sides.  The  effect  was  like  the  fall  of  the 
walls  of  a  house.  Little  now  upheld  the  great  tower 
of  Pisa  but  a  few  naked  iron  stanchions.  Thence- 
forth not  a  few  balls  from  the  Serapis  must  have 
passed  straight  through  the  Richard  without  graz- 
ing her.  It  was  like  firing  buck-shot  through  the 
ribs  of  a  skeleton. 

But  further  forward,  so  deadly  was  the  broadside 
from  the  heavy  batteries  of  the  Serapis — levelled 
point-blank,  and  right  down  the  throat  and  bowels, 
as  it  were,  of  the  Richard — that  it  cleared  every- 
thing before  it.  The  men  on  the  Richard's  covered 
gun-deck  ran  above,  like  miners  from  the  fire-damp. 
Collecting  on  the  forecastle,  they  continued  to  fight 
with  grenades  and  muskets.  The  soldiers  also  were 
in  the  lofty  tops,  whence  they  kept  up  incessant 
volleys,  cascading  their  fire  down  as  pouring  lava 
from  cliffs. 

The  position  of  the  men  in  the  two  ships  was 
now  exactly  reversed.  For  while  the  Serapis  was 
tearing  the  Richard  all  to  pieces  below  deck,  and 
had  swept  that  covered  part  almost  of  the  last 
man,  the  Richard's  crowd  of  musketry  had  complete 
control  of  the  upper  deck  of  the  Serapis,  where  it 
was  almost  impossible  for  man  to  remain  unless 
as  a  corpse.  Though  in  the  beginning  the  tops  of 
the  Serapis  had  not  been  unsupplied  with  marks- 


78  The  American  Navy 

men,  yet  they  had  long  since  been  cleared  by  the 
overmastering  musketry  of  the  Richard.  Several, 
with  leg  or  arm  broken  by  a  ball,  had  been  seen 
going  dimly  downward  from  their  giddy  perch,  like 
falling  pigeons  shot  on  the  wing. 

As  busy  swallows  about  barn-eaves  and  ridge- 
poles, some  of  the  Richard's  marksmen,  quitting 
their  tops,  now  went  far  out  on  their  yard-arms, 
where  they  overhung  the  Serapis.  From  thence  they 
dropped  hand-grenades  upon  her  decks,  like  apples, 
which  growing  in  one  field  fall  over  the  fence  into 
another.  Others  of  their  band  flung  the  same  sour 
fruit  into  the  open  ports  of  the  Serapis.  A  hail- 
storm of  aerial  combustion  descended  and  slanted 
on  the  Serapis,  while  horizontal  thunderbolts  rolled 
crossways  through  the  subterranean  vaults  of  the 
Richard.  The  belligerents  were  no  longer,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  things,  an  English  ship  and  an 
American  ship.  It  was  a  co-partnership  and  joint- 
stock  combustion-company,  of  both  ships;  yet 
divided,  even  in  participation.  The  two  vessels 
were  as  two  houses,  through  whose  party-wall  doors 
have  been  cut:  one  family  (the  Guelphs)  occupying 
the  whole  lower  story;  another  family  (the  Ghibe- 
lines),  the  whole  upper  story. 

Meanwhile,  determined  Paul  flew  hither  and 
thither  like  the  meteoric  corposant-ball,  which  shift- 
ingly  dances  on  the  tips  and  verges  of  ship's  rigging 
in  storms.  Wherever  he  went,  he  seemed  to  cast 
a  pale  light  on  all  faces.  Blacked  and  burnt,  his 
Scotch  bonnet  was  compressed  to  a  gun  wad  on 
his  head.  His  Parisian  coat,  with  its  gold-laced 
sleeve  laid  aside,  disclosed  to  the  full  the  blue  tat- 
tooing on  his  arm,  which  sometimes  in  fierce  ges- 


John  Paul  Jones  79 

tures  streamed  in  the  blaze  of  the  cannonade, 
cabalistically  terrific  as  the  charmed  standard  of 
Satan.  Yet  his  frenzied  manner  was  less  a  tes- 
timony of  his  internal  commotion  than  intended 
to  inspirit  and  madden  his  men,  some  of  whom, 
seeing  him,  in  transports  of  intrepidity  stripped 
themselves  to  their  trousers,  exposing  their  naked 
bodies  to  the  as  naked  shot.  The  same  was  done 
on  the  Serapis,  where  several  guns  were  seen  sur- 
rounded by  their  buff  crews,  as  by  fauns  and 
satyrs. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fray,  before  the  ships 
interlocked,  in  the  intervals  of  smoke  which  swept 
over  the  ships  as  mist  over  mountain-tops,  afford- 
ing open  rents  here  and  there — the  gun-deck  of  the 
Serapis,  at  certain  points,  showed,  congealed  for 
the  instant  in  all  attitudes  of  dauntlessness,  a 
gallery  of  marble  statues — fighting  gladiators. 

Stooping  low  and  intent,  with  one  braced  leg 
thrust  behind  and  one  arm  thrust  forward,  curling 
round  towards  the  muzzle  of  the  gun,  there  was 
seen  the  loader,  performing  his  allotted  part;  on 
the  other  side  of  the  carriage,  in  the  same  stooping 
posture,  but  with  both  hands  holding  his  long  black 
pole,  pike-wise,  ready  for  instant  use — stood  the 
eager  rammer  and  sponger;  while  at  the  breech, 
crouched  the  wary  Captain  of  the  gun,  his  keen 
eye,  like  the  watching  leopard's,  leering  along  the 
range;  and  behind  all,  tall  and  erect,  the  Egyptian 
symbol  of  death,  stood  the  matchman,  immovable 
for  the  moment,  his  long-handled  match  reserved. 
Up  to  their  two  long  death-dealing  batteries,  the 
trained  men  of  the  Serapis  stood  and  toiled  in 
mechanical  magic  of  discipline.  They  tended  those 


8o  The  American  Navy 

rows  of  guns,  as  Lowell  girls  the  rows  of  looms  in 
a  cotton  factory.  The  Parcae  were  not  more 
methodical ;  Atropos  not  more  fatal ;  the  automaton 
chess-player  not  more  irresponsible. 

"  Look,  lad ;  I  want  a  grenade,  now,  thrown  down 
their  main  hatchway.  I  saw  a  long  pile  of  cartridges 
there.  The  powder  monkeys  have  brought  them  up 
faster  than  they  can  be  used.  Take  a  bucket  of 
combustibles,  and  let 's  hear  from  you  presently." 

These  words  were  spoken  by  Paul  to  Israel. 
Israel  did  as  ordered.  In  a  few  minutes,  bucket 
in  hand,  begrimed  with  powder,  sixty  feet  in  air, 
he  hung  like  Apollyon  from  the  extreme  tip  of  the 
yard  over  the  fatal  abyss  of  the  hatchway.  As 
he  looked  down  between  the  eddies  of  smoke  into 
that  slaughterous  pit,  it  was  like  looking  from  the 
verge  of  a  cataract  down  into  the  yeasty  pool  at 
its  base.  Watching  his  chance  he  dropped  one 
grenade  with  such  fatal  precision  that,  striking  its 
mark,  an  explosion  rent  the  Serapis  like  a  volcano. 
The  long  row  of  heaped  cartridges  was  ignited.  The 
fire  ran  horizontally,  like  an  express  on  a  railway. 
More  than  twenty  men  were  instantly  killed ;  nearly 
forty  wounded.  This  blow  restored  the  chances  of 
battle,  before  in  favor  of  the  Serapis. 

At  this  juncture  the  Alliance  again  appeared, 
for  the  second  time  in  the  engagement,  and, 
running  across  the  bow  of  the  Richard  and  the 
stern  of  the  Serapis,  raked  both  ships  indis- 
criminately with  round-,  grape-,  and  bar-shot. 
This,  notwithstanding  Jones  (as  lie  testified  at 
the  court-martial  of  Captain  Landais)  "  con- 


John  Paul  Jones  81 

stantly  called  from  the  Richard  for  him  not  to 
fire,  but  to  lay  the  enemy  alongside."  From 
this  fire,  Master's  Mate  Caswell  and  several  men 
were  wounded.  After  firing  several  broadsides 
the  Alliance  again  ran  off  to  leeward  and  took 
no  further  part  in  the  action. 

Captain  Pearson,  who  seems  to  have  been 
fertile  in  expedient,  now  let  go  his  larboard 
anchor,  hoping,  as  his  ship  brought  up,  she  might 
drift  clear  of  the  Richard;  but  it  was  calm,  and 
as  the  lashings  held,  the  two  ships,  lashed  to- 
gether, swung  to  the  anchor.  Jones  not  only 
kept  up  his  deadly  musketry  fire,  but  by  con- 
stant hammering  with  the  three  nine-pounders  on 
his  quarter-deck,  he  had  nearly  cut  in  two  the 
mainmast  of  the  Serapis  ten  feet  above  her  deck. 
As  an  evidence  of  the  havoc  made,  meanwhile, 
by  the  sharpshooters,  Dr.  Bannatyne,  the  English 
surgeon,  says :  "  No  less  than  eleven  men  were 
shot  at  our  wheel,  seven  of  whom  were  killed 
outright,  and  all,  without  exception,  were  struck 
by  musket-balls." 

At  this  period  of  the  fight  the  mainmast  of 
the  Serapis  fell,  carrying  with  it  the  mizzen- 
topmast.  Soon  after,  Jones  mustered  a  board- 
ing party  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  sailors,  each 
with  a  cutlass  and  two  pistols,  and  a  few  with 
hatchets,  and  headed  by  Acting-Lieutenant 
John  Maynant,  they  boarded  the  Serapis,  land- 
ing in  the  waist  at  the  break  of  the  top-gallant- 
forecastle.  As  Maynant's  feet  struck  the  deck, 


82  The  American  Navy 

a  sailor  struck  a  sharp  boarding-pike  through 
the  fleshy  part  of  his  thigh,  but  the  lieutenant 
shot  the  Englishman  at  the  same  moment,  kill- 
ing him  instantly.  The  American  boarders 
carried  everything  before  them,  and  Captain 
Pearson,  seeing  they  were  in  full  possession  of 
the  fore  part  of  his  ship,  seized  the  halliards 
of  the  ensign  and  lowered  the  flag  of  the  Serapis 
himself. 

But  the  confusion  was  so  great  that  for  sev- 
eral minutes  the  firing  from  the  gun-deck  of 
the  Serapis  and  from  the  marines  of  the  Richard 
continued,  until  Maynant  called  to  Lieutenant 
Dale :  "  He  has  struck ;  stop  the  firing.  Come 
on  board  and  take  possession ! "  Dale  at  once 
swung  himself  on  board  and,  going  aft,  said  to 
Captain  Pearson :  "  I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to 
be  the  first  lieutenant  of  the  ship  alongside, 
which  is  the  American  Continental  ship  Bon 
Homme  Richard,  under  command  of  Commodore 
Paul  Jones.  What  ship  is  this?  " 

"  His  Britannic  Majesty's  late  ship,  the 
Serapis,  sir,"  was  the  response,  "  and  I  am  Cap- 
tain Richard  Pearson." 

"  Pardon  me,  sir,"  said  the  young  American 
courteously,  "  in  the  haste  of  the  moment,  I  for- 
got to  inform  you  that  my  name  is  Richard 
Dale,  and  I  must  request  you  to  pass  on  board 
the  ship  alongside." 

The  first  lieutenant  of  the  Serapis  coming  up 
from  below  at  this  moment,  and  seeing  the 


John  Paul  Jones  83 

American  officer,  inquired  of  his  captain,  "  Has 
the  enemy  struck,  sir?" 

"  No,  sir,"  responded  Pearson ;  "  I  have 
struck." 

In  his  journal,  Jones  describes  the  formal 
surrender  as  follows: 

Captain  Pearson  now  confronted  me,  the  image 
of  chagrin  and  despair.  He  offered  me  his  sword, 
with  a  slight  bow,  but  was  silent.  His  first  lieu- 
tenant followed  suit.  I  was  sorry  for  them,  for 
they  had  fought  their  ship  better  and  braver  than 
any  English  ship  was  ever  fought  before,  and  this 
fortune  of  war  came  hard  to  them.  I  wanted  to 
speakj  but  they  were  so  sad  and  dignified  in  their 
silence  I  hardly  knew  what  to  say.  Finally,  I 
mustered  courage  and  said,  as  I  took  the  swords 
and  handed  them  to  Midshipman  Potter  at  my  el- 
bow: "Captain  Pearson,  you  have  fought  heroically. 
You  have  worn  this  sword  to  your  own  credit  and 
to  the  honor  of  your  service.  I  hope  your  sovereign 
will  suitably  reward  you."  He  bowed  again,  but 
made  no  reply,  whereupon  I  requested  him  and  his 
lieutenant  to  accompany  Mr.  Potter  to  my  cabin. 

It  was  midnight  when  this  most  remarkable 
sea-fight  ended,  and  upon  inspection  it  was  found 
that  the  Richard  had  seven  feet  of  water  in  her 
hold,  although  the  pumps  were  constantly  run- 
ning, double-manned  by  the  English  prisoners. 
The  lashings  that  held  the  ships  were  now  cut 
and  they  drifted  apart.  After  mustering  the 
crew  it  was  found  that  the  Richard  had  sixty 


84  The  American  Navy 

killed  and  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
wounded;  nearly  every  twelve-pounder  gun  in 
the  starboard  broadside  was  dismounted  or  dis- 
abled, the  starboard  side  of  the  ship  had  been 
fairly  driven  in,  almost  to  the  water's  edge, 
abreast  of  the  Serapis's  lower  tier  of  eighteen- 
pounders,  and  her  rudder  was  cut  entirely  off, 
in  fact  she  was  a  hopeless  wreck. 

It  was  at  once  apparent  that  she  could  not 
be  kept  afloat,  and,  in  fact,  had  it  not  been  al- 
most calm,  with  an  unusually  smooth  sea,  the 
Richard  would  have  surely  sunk  long  before  the 
battle  ended.  The  work  of  removing  the  wounded 
American  officers  and  crew  to  the  Serapis  was 
at  once  begun,  but  it  was  not  until  nearly  even- 
ing of  the  following  day  that  this  task  was  com- 
pleted. The  crew  and  the  English  prisoners 
wrere  also  transferred,  and  then,  last  of  all,  Paul 
Jones,  leaving  the  Richard  alone  with  the  dead 
for  whom  she  made  a  fitting  sepulchre,  stepped 
into  his  boat  and  bade  adieu  to  the  gallant  ship 
with  whose  fame  his  name  will  always  be 
associated. 

In  his  journal,  Jones  says: 

The  ensign-gaff,  shot  away  in  action,  had  been 
fished  and  put  in  place  soon  after  firing  ceased, 
and  our  torn  and  tattered  flag  was  left  flying  when 
we  abandoned  her.  As  she  plunged  down  by  the 
head  at  the  last,  her  taffrail  momentarily  rose  in 
the  air;  so  the  very  last  vestige  mortal  eyes  ever 


John  Paul  Jones  85 

saw  of  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  was  the  defiant 
wavering  of  her  unconquered  and  unstricken  flag 
as  she  went  down.  And  as  I  had  given  them  the 
good  old  ship  for  their  sepulchre,  I  now  bequeathed 
to  my  immortal  dead  the  flag  they  had  so  desperately 
defended  for  their  winding-sheet! 

This  flag  had  an  uncommon  history.  It  was 
made  from  pieces  of  their  best  silk  gowns  by 
the  young  ladies  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
to  hoist  on  the  Ranger,  on  July  4,  1777,  and  it 
was  the  first  American  flag  to  be  saluted  by  the 
guns  of  a  European  naval  power  at  L'Orient. 
Jones  carried  it  with  him  to  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard  when  he  assumed  command  of  that  ship. 
When  he  returned  to  America  in  1781,  he  met 
Miss  Langdon,  one  of  the  original  donors,  to 
whom  he  said  that  it  was  his  ardent  desire  to 
bring  the  flag,  with  all  its  glories,  back  un- 
tarnished to  the  fair  hands  that  had  given  it 
to  him  four  years  before.  "  But,  Miss  Mary/' 
lie  added,  "  I  could  n't  bear  to  strip  it  from  the 
poor  old  ship  in  her  last  agony,  nor  could  I 
deny  to  my  dead  on  her  decks,  who  had  given 
their  lives  to  keep  it  flying,  the  glory  of  taking 
it  with  them !  " 

"  You  did  exactly  right,  Commodore,"  she  re- 
sponded. "  That  flag  is  just  where  we  all  wish 
it  to  be — flying  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  over 
the  only  ship  ever  sunk  in  victory.  If  you  had 
taken  it  from  her  and  brought  it  back  to  us, 
we  would  hate  you !  " 


86  The  American  Navy 

After  taking  command  of  the  Serapis,  Jones 
at  once  rigged  jury-masts,  and  after  tossing 
about  in  the  North  Sea  for  ten  days  with  head 
winds  and  bad  weather,  the  fleet  bore  away  for 
the  Texel,  where  they  anchored  October  3d.  On 
the  passage  they  narrowly  missed  falling  in  with 
the  British  ship  Edgar,  74,  that  was  in  search 
of  them. 

At  the  Texel  the  five  hundred  and  four 
British  prisoners  were  landed,  and  after  months 
of  tedious  negotiations,  and  very  sorely  against 
his  will,  Jones  gave  up  his  prisoners  and  his 
prizes  to  his  patron,  the  French  king,  and  as- 
sumed command  of  the  Alliance  in  December, 
1779. 

On  Christmas  Day  he  ran  through  the  Straits 
of  Dover  and  down  the  English  Channel,  and 
then  cruised  as  far  south  as  Corunna.  While 
off  that  port,  his  crew  sent  Jones  a  petition, 
which  read :  "  We  respectfully  request  you,  sir, 
to  lay  us  in  the  Alliance  alongside  any  single- 
decked  English  ship  to  be  found  in  these  seas,  or 
any  double-decked  ship  under  a  fifty."  This 
petition  from  the  veterans  of  the  Serapis  fight 
affected  their  captain  very  sensibly. 

Paul  Jones  was  received  with  extraordinary 
honors  at  the  French  Court,  and  was  invested 
with  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Order  of  Military 
Merit  by  Louis  XVI.,  while  he  was  courted  by 
the  nobility  and  became  the  hero  of  the  day  in 
Paris. 


John  Paul  Jones  87 

In  1781,  Jones  returned  to  the  United  States, 
where  he  received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  a 
commendatory  letter  from  General  Washington, 
and  he  was  given  charge  of  the  construction  of 
the  America,  74,  the  first  line-of-battle  ship 
built  in  the  United  States.  When  completed, 
this  fine  vessel  was  presented  to  the  King  of 
France  as  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the 
Magnifique,  stranded  in  Boston  harbor  while 
serving  in  the  Kevolutionary  War.  The  America 
was  later  captured  by  the  British  from  the 
French,  and  was  incorporated  into  the  English 
navy. 

On  October  16,  1787,  Congress  passed  a  reso- 
lution that  a  medal  of  gold  be  struck  and 
presented  to  Chevalier  Paul  Jones,  in  commem- 
oration of  the  valor  and  brilliant  services  of  that 
officer  in  command  of  a  squadron  of  American 
and  French  ships  under  the  flag  and  commission 
of  the  United  States,  off  the  coast  of  Great 
Britain,  in  the  late  war;  and  that  the  Honor- 
able Thomas  Jefferson,  Minister  of  the  United 
States  at  the  Court  of  Versailles,  have  the  same 
executed  with  the  proper  devices. 

The  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  was  ordered 
by  Congress  to  prepare  a  letter  to  be  signed  by 
the  President,  embodying  the  above  resolution, 
which  Jones  was  to  deliver  "  into  the  hands  of 
His  Most  Christian  Majesty." 

Before  he  left  the  United  States,  for  France, 
in  1787,  Congress  recommended  the  settlement 


88  The  American  Navy 

of  Jones's  claim  for  "  pay,  advances,  and  ex- 
penses," amounting  to  £9784  16s,  Id.,  "  or  such 
part  thereof  as  may,  consistently  with  the  exist- 
ing condition  of  the  Treasury,  be  practicable." 
As  the  Board  of  Treasury  could  pay  only  £2000 
on  account,  Jones  declined  to  accept  any  part 
at  that  time,  and  it  was  not  until  July  6,  1848, 
that  Congress  appropriated  $50,000  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  heirs-at-law  of  Paul  Jones,  in  full 
settlement  of  this  claim. 

Before  the  gallant  Commodore  sailed  from 
the  shores  of  America  for  the  last  time,  he  was 
entertained  at  a  grand  dinner  in  New  York,  on 
November  10th,  by  John  Jay,  at  which  forty 
guests  were  at  table.  On  November  llth,  Jones 
sailed  in  the  ship  Governor  Clinton,  and  was 
landed  at  Dover  nineteen  days  later.  In  Lon- 
don he  stayed  one  week,  having  confidential 
letters  for  our  Minister,  Mr.  Adams,  and  he  then 
passed  over  to  Paris,  where  he  remained  until 
January,  1788,  when  Mr.  Jefferson  sent  him  to 
Copenhagen  as  Plenipotentiary  Agent.  At  the 
Danish  Court  he  received  special  attention,  and 
became  a  great  favorite  with  the  royal  person- 
ages. While  at  Copenhagen,  the  Russian  Min- 
ister, Baron  Krudsner,  laid  before  Jones  a 
definite  proposition  from  the  Empress  Catherine, 
of  Kussia,  in  her  own  handwriting,  offering  him 
the  command  of  her  naval  forces  in  the  Black 
Sea,  to  co-operate  with  the  army  under  General 
Suwarrow.  His  rank  was  to  be  "  Captain- 


John  Paul  Jones  89 

commandant  with  the  rank  of  major-general." 
Jones  accepted  the  offer,  with  the  proviso  that 
his  rank  should  be  rear-admiral,  and  this  was 
finally  granted. 

Notwithstanding  the  natural  jealousy  of  this 
American  sailor  promoted  over  their  heads,  the 
Russian  naval  officers  recognized  the  great  abil- 
ity and  desperate  courage  of  their  new  Admiral, 
and  in  the  engagements  with  the  Turks  during 
the  Liman  campaign  they  supported  him  ad- 
mirably. In  the  action  of  June  17th,  in  which 
the  Russian  and  Turkish  fleets  were  each  of 
about  the  same  size,  the  Turks  lost  nine  of  their 
large  ships  and  twenty  gunboats,  with  three 
thousand  casualties,  while  the  Russian  loss  was 
one  frigate  and  six  gunboats  sunk,  with  seven 
hundred  killed  and  wounded.  The  following 
October,  the  Empress  invested  Jones  with  the 
Order  of  St.  Anne,  and  promoted  him  to  Vice- 
Admiral ;  but,  disgusted  with  the  intrigues  of  the 
Court  and  the  intolerable  jealousy  of  Prince 
Potemkin  and  General  Nassau-Siegen,  he  gladly 
accepted  a  year's  leave  of  absence,  and  after 
visiting  Warsaw,  Vienna,  Munich,  and  Amster- 
dam, Jones  arrived  in  Paris,  in  May,  1790,  where 
he  remained  until  July  18,  1792,  when  he  died 
of  dropsy  of  the  breast,  just  as  he  had  been 
appointed,  at  the  special  request  of  Jefferson, 
United  States  Commissioner  for  treating  with 
the  Dey  of  Algiers  on  the  subject  of  peace  and 
of  the  ransom  of  Americans  held  in  captivity 


9°  The  American  Navy 

by  that  power.  In  his  last  moments,  while  gasp- 
ing for  breath,  Jones  bequeathed — by  the  hands 
of  Gouverneur  Morris — "  the  sword  of  honor  " 
he  had  received  from  King  Louis  of  France  to 
Richard  Dale — "  my  good  old  Dick," — as  he 
called  the  gallant  officer  who  had  been  his  first 
lieutenant  in  the  Bon  Eomme  Richard,  the 
Alliance,  and  the  Ariel. 

The  French  National  Assembly  ordered  a  pub- 
lic funeral  for  "  Paul  Jones,  Admiral  of  the 
United  States  of  America,"  and  Cambon  moved 
that  "  the  President  of  the  Assembly  shall  forth- 
with name  twelve  members,  including  himself,  to 
represent  our  desire  to  so  honor  the  memory  of 
such  a  man."  Jules  Marron,  rector  of  the  Pro- 
testant Consistory  of  Paris,  pronounced  the 
funeral  oration,  and  Bertrand  Barere  delivered 
from  the  portico  of  the  Palace  of  Justice  an 
oration  upon  "  The  Freedom  of  the  Sea,"  extol- 
ling the  achievements  of  his  dead  friend. 

One  hundred  and  thirteen  years  later,  in  June, 
1905,  the  remains  of  John  Paul  Jones  were  re- 
moved from  the  place  of  their  interment  in  Paris 
and,  after  a  brilliant  funeral  pageant  through 
the  streets  of  the  French  capital,  were  delivered 
on  board  the  United  States  steam  frigate  Brook- 
lyn at  Cherbourg.  Thence,  accompanied  by 
three  vessels  of  war,  they  were  taken  to  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  where  they  were  received  by  Rear- 
Admiral  Evans,  with  eleven  ships  of  war,  and 
escorted  to  Annapolis.  There,  within  the  pre- 


John  Paul  Jones  91 

cincts  of  the  Naval  Academy,  in  the  presence 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Maryland,  and  a  vast  concourse  of  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Old  World  and  the  New,  they 
were  reinterred  with  military  honors. 

Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  impressive  demon- 
strations of  international  honor  ever  paid  to  a 
naval  hero. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE     CRUISES     OF     THE     PRIVATEERS     "  YANKEE," 

"  GENERAL    PICKERING,"    AND    "  PRINCE    DE 

NEUFCHATEL  " 

A  FAVORITE  name  for  our  private  armed 
ships  in  the  War  of  1812  was  "  Yankee." 
Thus  we  find  in  the  annals  of  the  privateers  the 
Yankee,  the  True-Blooded  Yankee,  the  Yankee 
American,  and  the  Yankee  Porter.  In  this 
sketch,  however,  we  shall  deal  with  the  six 
cruises  of  the  original  vessel,  the  Yankee.  She 
was  a  fast  sailing  brig  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  tons,  mounting  fourteen  nine-  and  six- 
pounders  in  broadside  and  a  twelve-pounder 
long-torn  amidships.  She  was  manned,  mainly, 
by  Rhode  Island  seamen  and  commanded  by 
Captain  Oliver  Wilson. 

She  sailed  from  Bristol  the  middle  of  July, 
1812,  and  about  noon,  when  off  Halifax,  Nova 
Scotia,  she  sighted  a  large  ship,  evidently  well 
armed.  Captain  Wilson's  crew  went  to  quarters 
and  the  Yankee  approached  the  enemy  on  her 
weather  quarter.  She  showed  English  colors 
and  Wilson  at  once  fired  the  first  broadside. 

ga 


The  Cruises  of  the  "Yankee"       93 

The  stranger  promptly  responded  and  a  sharp 
action,  at  close  quarters,  ensued,  in  which  the 
American  marksmen  in  the  Yankee's  tops  took 
an  active  part,  shooting  the  English  helmsman. 
This  caused  the  English  vessel  to  fall  off  from 
the  wind,  and  in  the  confusion  Captain  Wilson 
luffed  across  his  enemy's  bow  and  delivered  a 
series  of  terrific  raking  broadsides,  the  riflemen, 
meanwhile,  keeping  up  such  a  deadly  fire  that 
the  Englishman  was  forced  to  surrender.  The 
prize  proved  to  be  the  British  privateer  Royal 
Bounty,  Captain  Henry  Gambles,  a  fine  vessel 
of  six  hundred  and  fifty-eight  tons,  mounting 
ten  guns,  but  manned  by  only  twenty-five  men. 
She  was  very  much  cut  up  in  hull,  sails,  and 
rigging,  having  been  struck  by  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  shot.  She  had  two  killed  and 
seven  wounded,  among  the  latter  her  commander 
and  one  of  her  officers.  After  sending  her  prize 
into  a  home  port,  the  Yankee  continued  her 
cruise,  capturing  several  other  vessels,  among 
them  the  Eliza  Ann,  from  Liverpool,  with  a  full 
cargo  of  British  goods.  With  this  prize  the 
Yankee  returned  to  Boston. 

About  the  middle  of  October  the  Yankee 
sailed,  on  her  second  cruise,  to  the  West  Coast 
of  Africa.  After  capturing  the  British  sloop 
Mary  Ann,  of  four  guns,  with  a  cargo  of  gold 
dust,  ivory,  and  carved  wood,  valued  at  f 28,000, 
she  joined  issue  with  the  schooner  Alder,  six 
guns.  This  was  a  stubborn  fight  and  was  only 


94  The  American  Navy 

successful  when,  after  blowing  up  the  quarter- 
deck of  the  enemy,  by  which  her  commander 
and  six  of  the  enemy  were  killed,  the  vessel 
surrendered.  The  next  prize  was  taken  farther 
down  the  coast,  where  a  brig  was  found  anchored 
under  the  guns  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  for- 
midable fort.  Captain  Wilson,  however,  actually 
cut  this  vessel  out  from  her  haven  and  brought 
her  out  at  night  to  his  anchorage.  She  proved 
to  be  the  Fly  with  a  cargo  valued  at  |36,000. 
Continuing  the  cruise,  the  Yankee  captured  the 
brig  Thames,  of  Liverpool,  with  a  $40,000  cargo ; 
the  brig  Harriet  and  Matilda,,  carrying  eight 
guns;  the  brig  Shannon,  ten  guns;  the  schooner 
George,  taken  by  a  bold  dash  one  evening  into 
Tradetown ;  and  the  schooner  Alfred.  The  Yan- 
kee returned  to  Bristol  in  March,  1813,  having 
taken,  in  one  hundred  and  fifty  days,  eight 
vessels  with  property  valued  at  very  nearly 
$300,000. 

On  May  20,  1813,  the  Yankee  sailed,  this  time 
under  command  of  Captain  Elisha  Snow,  and 
two  days  out  of  port  captured  the  brig  William. 
On  the  30th  they  fell  in  with  the  brig  Thames 
of  fourteen  guns,  and  after  an  hour's  fight  cap- 
tured her,  the  second  of  her  name  taken  by  the 
Yankee.  The  cargo  of  cotton  in  this  vessel  was 
sold  for  $110,000.  The  Yankee  was  now  near- 
ing  the  coast  of  Ireland,  and  when  in  sight  of 
land  she  captured  the  sloop  Earl  Camden,  which 
was  sent  into  France.  Eight  days  later,  while 


The  Cruises  of  the  "Yankee"       95 

still  in  sight  of  the  Irish  coast,  she  took  the 
brigs  Elizabeth  and  the  Watson,  each  loaded 
with  cotton,  and  sent  them  into  France.  These 
two  cargoes  were  valued  at  f  140,000.  The  next 
day  the  brig  Mariner,  laden  with  rum  and 
sugar,  valued  at  $70,000,  fell  captive  to  the 
active  little  Yankee  and  was  also  ordered  to 
France. 

Captain  Snow,  now  deeming  it  prudent  to 
leave  the  Irish  coast,  stood  out  to  sea  and  on 
July  23d  a  vessel  was  sighted,  which  declined 
to  heave  to.  Snow  hoisted  American  colors  and 
a  pennant,  and  sent  a  shot  from  his  long-torn  to 
emphasize  his  demand,  whereupon  the  stranger 
displayed  Spanish  colors  and  responded  with  a 
stern  gun.  The  Yankee  was  gaining  rapidly  on 
the  chase  and  as  she  neared  her  Snow  fired  a 
lee  gun,  upon  which  the  chase  luffed  up  and 
opened  with  grape  from  her  stern  guns.  Be- 
lieving, now,  that  he  was  dealing  with  an  English- 
man in  disguise,  Snow  responded  so  vigorously 
that  after  half  a  dozen  broadsides  the  Spanish 
colors  came  down.  Sending  a  boat  on  board 
Snow  found,  to  his  chagrin,  that  the  vessel  was 
the  Spanish  privateer  Nueva  Constitution,  a 
ship  of  three  hundred  tons,  with  six  twenty- 
four  and  two  twelve-pounders.  Joint  apologies 
were  now  in  order,  and  the  two  vessels  separated 
after  their  profitless  combat. 

On  August  20,  1813  the  Yankee  returned  to 
Bristol,  having  in  these  three  cruises  captured 


96  The  American  Navy 

twenty-two  English  vessels,  without  the  loss  of 
a  man.  She  sailed  on  a  fourth  cruise,  on  Sep- 
tember 13th,  commanded  by  Thomas  Jones,  and 
in  forty-nine  days  made  eight  captures,  with 
cargoes  valued  at  f  200,000.  In  June,  1814,  the 
Yankee  again  sailed  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Elisha  Snow,  making  a  short  but  very  suc- 
cessful cruise  during  which  she  captured  four 
vessels,  one  of  enormous  value,  the  gross  receipts 
from  the  sale  of  her  cargo  being  nearly  $600,000. 
In  her  sixth  and  last  cruise  before  the  termina- 
tion of  the  wrar,  the  Yankee  took  six  vessels.  The 
last,  the  General  Wellesley,  of  six  hundred  tons 
with  sixteen  guns,  was  captured  only  after  a 
running  fight  of  several  hours.  This  prize, 
valued  at  $250,000,  was  lost  on  the  bar  in  en- 
tering Charleston  harbor,  and  all  her  original 
crew,  with  two  of  the  American  prize  crew, 
perished  in  the  wreck. 

To  sum  up  the  work  of  this  extraordinarily 
successful  little  vessel:  In  her  six  cruises  she 
captured  nine  ships,  twenty-five  brigs,  five 
schooners,  and  one  sloop, — forty  vessels  in  all 
— and  she  seized  or  destroyed  property  of  the 
value  of  $5,000,000,  and  sent  into  Bristol, 
Rhode  Island,  $1,000,000  worth  of  goods.  On 
the  fifth  voyage  of  a  few  weeks,  the  owners  of 
the  Yankee  received  as  their  share  of  the  profits 
a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars,  Captain  Snow's 
share  was  $15,789,  a  cabin  boy's  $700,  and  the 
negro  servants  each  received  $1121. 


Cruises  of  the  "General  Pickering"     97 

THE    CRUISES    OP    THE    "  GENERAL    PICKERING  " 

One  of  the  most  daring  and  successful  among 
the  many  brave  commanders  of  our  early  priva- 
teers was  Jonathan  Haraden,  of  Salem,  a  worthy 
descendant  of  the  old  English  sea-rovers  that 
ravaged  the  Spanish  Main.  He  was  born  in 
Gloucester,  that  nursery  of  sturdy  seamen,  in 
1745.  In  1776,  soon  after  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities with  Great  Britain,  he  was  appointed  a 
lieutenant  of  the  privateer  brig  Tyrannicide, 
Captain  Fiske,  carrying  fourteen  guns,  with  one 
hundred  men.  She  belonged  to  Richard  Cabot, 
of  Salem,  father  of  George  Cabot,  President  of 
the  famous  Hartford  Convention,  and  great- 
grandfather of  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  the  present 
senior  United  States  Senator  from  Massa- 
chusetts. 

The  Tyrannicide  speedily  captured  a  royal 
cutter,  bound  from  Halifax  to  New  York,  carry- 
ing important  despatches,  and  a  few  days  later 
she  had  an  engagement  with  the  armed  schooner 
Despatch,  carrying  eight  guns,  twelve  swivels, 
and  thirty-one  men.  At  the  end  of  an  hour's 
fight  the  Despatch  surrendered,  her  commander 
and  seven  men  being  wounded  and  one  killed, 
while  the  vessel  was  very  much  cut  up.  The 
American  loss  was  one  killed  and  two  wrounded. 
In  July  the  Tyrannicide  captured  the  armed  ship 
Glasgow  and  made  thirty  prisoners;  the  next 
month  she  took  the  brig  St.  Lawrence  and  the 


98  The  American  Navy 

schooner  Three  Brothers.  In  the  following 
month,  in  company  with  the  privateer  Massa- 
chusetts, she  attacked  the  British  bark  Launs- 
dale  and,  after  a  struggle  lasting  three  hours, 
captured  her. 

On  the  27th  of  March,  1779,  while  off  Ber- 
muda, the  Tyrannicide  fell  in  with  the  English 
armed  brig  Revenge,  carrying  fourteen  guns  and 
eighty-five  men.  After  some  manoeuvring  for 
position,  the  two  evenly  matched  vessels  came 
to  close  quarters  and  the  Americans  succeeded 
in  bringing  their  brig  close  alongside  their  ad- 
versary. The  two  crews  fought  each  other  with 
desperate  valor  over  the  low  bulwarks,  each,  in 
turn  boarding  and  being  repelled,  until  at  last 
the  captain  of  the  Revenge,  having  a  large  num- 
ber of  men  killed  or  wounded  and  two  of  his 
broadside  guns  dismounted,  called  for  quarter 
and  surrendered.  In  this  contest  the  Americans 
had  eight  men  wounded.  This  was  the  last  cap- 
ture made  by  the  Tyrannicide;  for  the  following 
summer,  in  the  unfortunate  Penobscot  expedi- 
tion, she  with  twelve  other  privateers  was  de- 
stroyed to  prevent  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy. 

After  this  active  experience  in  sea  warfare, 
Haraden  found  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  com- 
mand of  the  one-hundred-and-eighty-ton  priva- 
teer General  Pickering,  of  sixteen  guns.  In 
April,  1780,  he  sailed  for  Bilboa,  Spain,  with 
a  cargo  of  sugar,  and  on  the  outward  voyage, 


STEPHEN    DECATUR 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  T.  Sully 


Cruises  of  the  " General  Pickering"     99 

on  May  29th,  he  was  attacked  by  a  British 
cutter,  mounting  twenty-two  guns.  Although 
greatly  overmatched,  Haraden,  after  a  combat 
of  two  hours,  succeeded  in  beating  his  antagonist 
off  and  proceeded  on  his  voyage.  As  a  partial 
compensation,  however,  for  this  profitless  fight, 
as  the  General  Pickering  entered  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  at  night,  she  came  upon  the  British  pri- 
vateer schooner  Golden  Eagle,  mounting  twenty- 
two  guns  and  carrying  sixty  men. 

Haraden  at  once  ran  alongside  of  the  stranger, 
called  upon  her  to  surrender  and,  trusting  to 
the  darkness  to  conceal  his  strength,  boldly  an- 
nounced that  his  vessel  was  an  American  cruiser 
and  that  he  would  blow  the  privateer  out  of 
water  if  she  did  not  at  once  surrender!  Vivid 
recollections  of  the  fateful  cruise  of  Paul  Jones 
in  the  Ranger  and,  later,  in  the  Bon  Homme 
Richard,  the  previous  year,  lingered  in  the 
memory  of  the  British  seamen  of  the  day,  so, 
taken  completely  by  surprise,  by  the  appearance 
of  the  Pickering  at  close  quarters,  and  awed  by 
the  bold  threat  of  her  commander,  the  Golden 
Eagle  at  once  surrendered.  The  English  cap- 
tain, when  he  came  on  board  of  his  captor,  was, 
however,  very  naturally,  greatly  humiliated  at 
having  given  up  his  vessel  without  a  blow  to 
such  an  inferior  force. 

A  few  days  later,  early  in  the  morning  of 
June  3d,  as  the  Pickering  and  her  prize  were 
near  the  entrance  to  the  port  of  Bilboa,  a  large 


ioo  The  American  Navy 

armed  ship  hove  in  sight,  which  Haraden  learned 
from  the  captain  of  the  Golden  Eagle  was  the 
privateer  Achilles  of  London,  mounting  forty- 
two  guns,  with  a  complement  of  one  hundred 
and  forty  men. 

The  Yankee  captain  laid  down  the  spy-glass 
with  which  he  was  examining  the  approaching 
ship  and  nonchalantly  observed :  "  She  is  a  bit 
bigger  than  we  are,  but  I  shan't  run  from  her," 
then  turning  to  the  officer  of  the  deck  he  said: 
"  Keep  the  ship  on  her  course,  sir." 

The  wind  fell  light,  and  before  sunset  the 
Achilles  had  recaptured  the  Golden  Eagle,  that 
had  fallen  to  leeward,  placed  a  prize  crew  on 
board  of  her,  and,  learning  the  character  and 
force  of  the  General  Pickering,  began  to  beat 
up  to  windward  to  obtain  a  favorable  position 
for  attacking.  Meanwhile  night  came  on  and 
the  commander  of  the  Achilles  deferred  the  con- 
templated attack  until  daylight,  feeling  quite 
confident  that  his  prize  was  easily  within  his 
grasp.  Haraden  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
the  least  discomposed  at  the  prospect  before  him 
of  an  unequal  fight  with  the  powerful  Achilles 
the  next  day ;  for  it  is  recorded  that  "  he  took 
a  sound  night's  sleep  and  in  the  morning  re- 
cruited a  boatswain  and  eight  seamen  from 
among  the  English  prisoners  on  board  his  ship." 

Meanwhile  the  news  that  a  pair  of  British 
and  American  warships  were  about  to  fight  in 
full  view  of  the  port  had  spread  through  Bilboa, 


Cruises  of  the  "General  Pickering"   101 

and  crowds  of  people  gathered,  eager  to  witness 
a  naval  battle,  which  promised  a  novel  sensation 
for  the  public,  far  surpassing  a  bull  fight.  The 
coming  of  night,  however,  disappointed  the  spec- 
tators. The  rising  sun  of  June  4th,  nevertheless, 
found  a  multitude  of  Spaniards  gathered  on  the 
hillsides,  impatiently  waiting  for  the  promised 
spectacle.  The  Achilles  at  once  began  the  at- 
tack, standing  down  for  her  expected  prey  with 
hearty  cheers  from  her  crew.  Haraden,  how- 
ever, had  placed  his  ship  overnight  near  certain 
shoals  in  the  harbor,  in  such  a  position  that, 
as  the  British  ship  approached,  she  would  be 
exposed  to  a  raking  fire,  and  the  wind  dying 
out  as  she  came  into  range,  the  Americans  were 
enabled  to  keep  up  a  murderous  fire  upon  their 
foe  for  nearly  two  hours  from  their  long-torn 
before  the  Achilles  could  get  into  her  desired 
position. 

At  last,  getting  within  range,  the  British  ship 
opened  with  her  broadside  guns  and  made  every 
effort  to  get  into  closer  quarters,  but  Haraden 
maintained  his  position  in  shallow  water,  mean- 
while keeping  up  a  steady  fire  upon  his  an- 
tagonist. It  is  said  that  at  the  last,  running 
short  of  shot,  he  ordered  the  gunner  to  load  with 
crowbars,  a  number  of  which  he  had  taken  from 
a  prize.  The  flight  of  this  novel  ammunition 
produced  the  utmost  consternation  among  the 
British  and,  it  is  said,  precipitated  the  final  de- 
feat of  the  English  ship.  After  three  hours  of 


102  The  American  Navy 

this  desperate  engagement  the  Achilles,  with  a 
decimated  crew,  made  sail  to  escape. 

Haraden  at  once  followed,  in  hot  chase,  and 
offered  a  reward  to  the  gun's  crew  which  should 
carry  away  one  of  the  Englishman's  spars,  but 
without  avail.  The  Pickering  succeeded,  how- 
ever, in  recapturing  the  Golden  Eagle  with  a 
British  prize  crew  on  board,  and  with  the  second 
officer  of  the  Achilles  in  command. 

The  excited  onlookers  of  this  spectacular  con- 
test from  the  shore  now  crowded  into  small  boats 
and,  wildly  enthusiastic,  formed  an  escort  for 
the  General  Pickering  and  her  prize  as  they 
came  into  the  inner  anchorage.  It  is  stated 
that,  when  she  anchored,  it  was  almost  possible 
to  have  walked  dry  shod  ashore  over  the  small 
craft  that  swarmed  about  the  vessel.  When 
Captain  Haraden  landed,  so  great  was  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  Spaniards  over  the  heroic 
defence  of  his  little  vessel,  that  they  raised  him 
on  their  shoulders  and  bore  that  victorious  com- 
mander in  triumph  through  the  city.  Mr.  Robert 
Cowan,  an  onlooker  of  the  fight,  writes: 

The  General  Pickering  in  comparison  with  her 
antagonist  looked  like  a  longboat  by  the  side  of  a 
ship.  As  for  Captain  Haraden  he  fought  with  a 
determination  that  seemed  superhuman,  and,  al- 
though in  the  most  exposed  positions,  where  the 
shot  flew  around  him,  he  was  all  the  while  as  calm 
and  steady  as  amid  a  shower  of  snowflakes. 


Cruises  of  the  "General  Pickering"   103 

Returning  to  the  United  States  from  Bilboa 
in  October,  while  off  Sandy  Hook,  Captain  Hara- 
den  fell  in  with  three  armed  vessels,  the  ship 
Hope,  of  fourteen  guns,  the  brig  Pomone,  of 
twelve  guns,  and  the  cutter  Royal  George,  of 
fourteen  guns.  By  a  series  of  skilful  manoeuvres 
Haraden  succeeded  in  separating  these  vessels 
and,  after  an  action  of  an  hour  and  a  half, 
actually  captured  all  three  of  them  and  sent 
them  into  port  as  prizes. 

On  the  next  cruise  the  General  Pickering  fell 
in  with  a  heavily  armed  king's  packet,  home- 
ward bound  from  the  West  Indies.  After  an 
engagement  of  four  hours  Haraden  found  that 
he  had  expended  all  but  one  round  of  ammuni- 
tion and  that  it  was  necessary  to  haul  off  to 
repair  damages.  Having  speedily  effected  this, 
he  rammed  home  his  last  round  of  shot  and 
boldly  running  alongside  his  antagonist,  declared 
that  he  would  give  them  exactly  five  minutes 
to  haul  down  their  colors  and  that,  if  they  did 
not  do  so  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  he 
would  send  every  man  of  the  crew  to  the  bottom 
of  the  ocean.  Then  running  up  the  red  flag,  the 
signal  for  "  no  quarter,"  he  coolly  took  out  his 
watch  and,  standing  where  he  could  be  plainly 
seen  by  the  enemy,  he  called  out  the  minutes 
as  they  expired. 

This  singular  summons  from  the  desperate 
Yankee  had  the  expected  effect.  The  dreadful 
suspense,  as  the  minutes  ticked  off,  was  too 


104  The  American  Navy 

much  for  the  nerves  of  the  already  demoralized 
Englishmen,  and  before  the  expiration  of  the 
allotted  time  the  colors  came  down.  On  board- 
ing the  prize  her  decks  were  found  covered  with 
dead  and  wounded  men  and  streams  of  blood 
were  oozing  from  her  scuppers. 

The  last  record  of  Captain  Haraden  is  while 
he  was  in  command  of  the  Ccesar,  fourteen  guns, 
on  June  5,  1782,  just  two  years  after  his  ex- 
traordinary fight  with  the  Achilles.  He  fell  in 
with  an  English  armed  ship  and  a  brig  and 
joined  combat  with  them  both.  For  two  hours 
neither  side  could  gain  a  decisive  advantage, 
regarding  which  Captain  Haraden  quaintly 
notes  in  his  journal  "  both  parties  separated, 
sufficiently  amused." 

In  October,  1909,  a  tablet  was  placed  upon  the 
house  in  Salem  where  he  died  in  1808.  At  the 
ceremony  one  of  the  speakers  declared  that 
"  Captain  Haraden  captured  more  than  one 
thousand  guns  from  the  ships  of  the  enemy  in 
his  various  cruises." 

THE   "  PRINCE   DE    NEUFCHATEL  " 

The  Prince  de  Neufchatel,  of  New  York,  was 
a  new  and  splendid  vessel  mounting  seventeen 
guns  and  carrying  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
and  under  command  of  Captain  Ordronaux,  was 
a  very  fortunate  privateer.  During  a  single 
cruise  she  was  chased  at  different  times  by 


Cruises  of  the  ' '  Prince  de  Neufchatel "   1 05 

seventeen  armed  British  vessels  and  by  good 
fortune  escaped  them  all,  bringing  home  goods 
valued  at  f  300,000.00  and  much  specie.  On  her 
last  cruise  in  October,  1814,  while  off  Nantucket, 
she  was  attacked  by  five  armed  boats  from  the 
British  frigate  Endymion.  The  privateer  at  the 
time  was  very  short-handed,  having  only  thirty- 
six  men  at  quarters,  the  remainder  of  her  crew 
being  absent  in  prizes. 

Early  in  the  forenoon  the  engagement  began. 
The  attacking  boats  divided  as  they  approached 
for  the  assault,  one  coming  on  each  side,  one 
under  the  stern,  and  one  on  each  bow,  having 
in  all  one  hundred  and  eleven  men  in  the  as- 
saulting party,  a  number  three  times  greater 
than  the  privateer's  crew.  The  attack  and  the 
defence  were  equally  desperate,  but  within  the 
space  of  twenty  minutes  the  British  were  re- 
pulsed and  actually  forced  to  cry  for  quarter. 
One  of  the  boats  had  gone  to  the  bottom  with 
forty-one  out  of  forty-three  of  her  crew,  while 
the  other  boats  were  fearfully  cut  up.  The 
larger  portion  of  the  English  force  engaged 
were  killed,  wounded,  or  made  prisoners,  while 
the  privateer's  loss  was  but  seven  killed  and 
twenty-four  wounded. 

The  privateer  then  made  sail  and,  having 
greater  speed  than  the  frigate,  she  succeeded  in 
escaping  from  her  foe  and  arrived  safely  in 
Boston  on  the  15th  of  October,  1814. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THREE  CRUISES  OP  THE  FRIGATE   "  CONSTITUTION  " 

HPHE  frigate  Constitution  or  "  Old  Ironsides  " 
A  as  she  has  been  affectionately  styled,  is 
the  last  existing  tie  that  links  the  old  navy  with 
the  new;  and  that  she  still  holds  a  most  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  national  interest  of  the 
present  generation  is  shown  by  the  hundreds  of 
pilgrims,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  who  each 
year  visit  the  old  ship  at  the  Charlestown  Navy 
Yard. 

Since  her  first  cruise,  in  the  summer  of  1798 
under  Captain  Samuel  Nicholson,  when  she  was 
in  the  West  Indies  during  the  brief  French  War, 
down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  when 
as  a  training  ship  for  Midshipmen  she  made  the 
voyage  from  Newport  to  Annapolis,  in  charge 
of  Lieutenant  Commander  P.  C.  Johnson,  she  had 
always  been  in  more  or  less  active  service.  On 
this  last  cruise  the  Constitution  was  started  from 
Newport  in  tow  of  a  tugboat,  but,  disdaining 
this  ignominious  aid,  the  good  old  ship  soon  ran 
away  from  her  tug  and,  for  a  time  logged  thir- 
teen and  a  half  knots,  as  though  to  show  what 
she  could  still  do,  as  she  made  her  own  way 
to  her  haven  at  Annapolis. 

106 


Cruises  of  the  "  Constitution"      107 

In  1803  Commodore  Edward  Preble  sailed 
from  Boston  in  the  Constitution  bound  for  the 
Mediterranean,  to  take  command  of  the  squad- 
ron in  the  operations  against  Tripoli.  When 
near  the  entrance  to  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar, 
one  dark  night,  they  suddenly  found  themselves 
near  a  large  vessel,  evidently  a  ship  of  war.  The 
crew  were  at  once  silently  brought  to  quarters 
and  Preble  hailed  "  What  ship  is  that?  "  The 
same  question  was  returned  from  the  stranger, 
in  reply  to  which  Preble  gave  the  name  of  his 
ship  and  repeated  his  first  question.  Again  the 
question  was  returned  instead  of  an  answer, 
and  again  the  Constitution's  name  was  given, 
without  receiving  other  reply  than  the  repeti- 
tion, "  What  ship  is  that?  " 

Preble's  patience  was  now  exhausted,  so  tak- 
ing the  trumpet  he  hailed,  "  I  am  now  going  to 
hail  you  for  the  last  time.  If  a  proper  answer 
is  not  returned  I  will  fire  a  shot  into  you."  A 
prompt  answer  instantly  came  back :  "  If  you 
fire  a  shot,  I  will  return  a  broadside."  Preble 
then  hailed:  "What  ship  is  that?"  The  re- 
ply was,  "  This  is  His  Britannic  Majesty's  ship 
Donnegal,  eighty-four  guns,  Sir  Richard  Stra- 
han,  an  English  Commodore.  Send  your  boat 
on  board."  Under  the  excitement  of  the  mo- 
ment Preble  leaped  on  the  hammock  netting 
and  responded :  "  This  is  the  United  States  ship 
Constitution,  forty-four  guns,  Edward  Preble, 
an  American  Commodore,  who  will  be  damned 


io8  The  American  Navy 

before  he  sends  his  boat  on  board  any  vessel." 
Then  turning  to  the  crew  he  cried,  "  Blow  your 
matches,  boys."  The  conversation  here  ceased 
and  soon  after  a  boat  came  alongside  with  a 
lieutenant  from  the  frigate  Maidstone,  who  of- 
fered apologies  for  the  seeming  rudeness,  that 
was  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  English  ship 
was  taken  unawares  and  thus  parleyed  to  gain 
time  to  get  their  men  to  quarters.  The  apology 
was  accepted  and  the  incident  closed. 

During  the  next  two  years  the  Constitution 
was  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  activity  in  the 
various  operations  of  the  war  with  the  Bar- 
bary  States,  which  have  been  referred  to  more 
at  length  in  a  previous  sketch,  and  it  was  a 
great  relief  when  at  last  hostilities  were  termi- 
nated by  a  satisfactory  treaty  being  negotiated 
by  Preble,  which  ended  the  war  and  the  pay- 
ment of  tribute  forever. 

War  was  declared  against  England  on  June 
18,  1812,  and  it  was  during  this  struggle  that 
the  Constitution  gained  her  chief  laurels.  Three 
days  after  the  declaration  of  war  the  Constitu- 
tion, Captain  Isaac  Hull,  sailed  from  Washing- 
ton and  on  July  17th  fell  in  with  the  British 
squadron  of  four  ships,  the  Africa,  64 ;  Shannon, 
38 ;  Belvidera,  38 ;  and  JEolus,  32.  A  sensational 
chase,  lasting  sixty  hours,  ensued,  from  which 
the  Constitution  escaped  by  her  extraordinary 
speed  aided  by  the  splendid  seamanship  of  her 
commander.  Hull  then  made  for  Boston,  whence 


COMMODORE  EDWARD  PREBLE,   U.S.N. 
From  the  painting  in  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston 


Cruises  of  the  "Constitution"      109 

he  sailed  again  on  August  2d,  and  standing  to 
the  eastward  skirted  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia 
and  passed  across  the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence  to  a  point  near  Cape  Race.  Then 
heading  to  the  southward,  at  two  o'clock  on  the 
19th,  a  sail  was  discovered,  which  one  hour  later 
was  made  out  to  be  a  frigate,  sailing  by  the 
wind  on  the  starboard  tack;  this  ship  proved  to 
be  H.  B.  M.  Guerriere,  38,  Captain  Dacres.  She 
maintained  her  course  and  the  Constitution  ap- 
proached her  rapidly,  the  wind  being  fresh,  so 
that  at  five  o'clock  they  were  but  five  miles 
apart.  The  Constitution  then  took  in  all  light  sails, 
made  ready  for  action  and  beat  to  quarters,  the 
crew  greeting  the  call  with  three  hearty  cheers. 

The  Guerriere,  meanwhile,  ran  up  a  British 
ensign  at  each  masthead,  and  backed  her  main- 
sail, waiting  for  her  enemy  to  come  up.  At 
5.05  P.M.  she  fired  her  starboard  broadside  at 
long  gun  shot,  then  wore  round  immediately, 
and  discharged  her  port  broadside,  but  two  shots 
in  all  taking  effect.  The  Constitution  hoisted  an 
ensign  and  a  jack  at  each  masthead  and  began 
firing  with  her  bow  guns  as  she  could  bring 
them  to  bear,  but  Hull's  object  was  not  to  com- 
mence the  action  seriously  until  quite  close. 
For  three  quarters  of  an  hour  the  fight  con- 
tinued in  this  way,  the  Guerriere  wearing  from 
time  to  time,  to  fire  a  broadside,  and  the  Ameri- 
can ship  yawing  to  avoid  being  raked  and  then 
firing  her  bow  guns. 


no  The  American  Navy 

At  last,  tiring  of  these  dilatory  tactics,  Hull 
wore  round,  set  his  light  sails  and  headed  di- 
rectly for  his  adversary,  who  now  bore  up,  so 
that  the  two  ships  were  sailing  in  the  same 
direction,  the  Constitution  to  windward.  At 
6.05  the  bows  of  the  American  frigate  began 
to  double  on  the  quarter  of  the  English  ship. 
As  the  Constitution  drew  slowly  ahead  she 
opened  with  her  forward  guns.  The  crew  of 
the  other  guns  had  remained  quietly  at  their 
quarters  while  their  ship  was  thus  running  up 
alongside  of  the  Guerriere,  waiting  in  silence 
for  the  order  to  fire.  Several  of  them  were 
killed  beside  their  guns  and  Lieutenant  Morris 
became  very  impatient  to  begin  firing,  but  Hull 
restrained  him  until  at  last  the  order  came. 
Then  the  guns  poured  forth  their  volleys,  and 
in  ten  minutes  the  enemy's  mizzen-mast  went 
by  the  board,  one  of  the  American  crew  calling 
to  his  mate  as  it  went  over  the  side,  "  Damn  it, 
Jack,  we  have  made  a  brig  of  her ! " 

The  Constitution  passed  ahead  about  two 
hundred  yards,  still  keeping  up  a  tremendous 
fire,  and  luffed  short  round  on  the  Guerriere's 
bow  to  prevent  being  raked.  In  doing  this  the 
Constitution  shot  into  the  wind,  got  sternway, 
and  fell  foul  of  her  antagonist.  As  the  vessels 
touched  both  parties  prepared  to  board,  but  the 
musketry  fire  on  both  sides  prevented  this.  The 
Constitution  then  filled  her  sails  and  shot  ahead. 
Just  at  that  moment  the  foremast  of  the  Guer- 


Cruises  of  the  "Constitution"     in 

riere  fell,  carrying  with  it  the  mainmast  and 
leaving  the  vessel  a  helpless  wreck,  wallowing 
in  the  trough  of  a  heavy  sea. 

The  Constitution  now  hauled  a  short  distance 
ahead  secured  her  masts,  rove  new  rigging,  and 
at  seven  o'clock  stood  down  and  took  a  favor- 
able position  for  raking,  when  the  jack  that  had 
been  kept  flying  on  the  stump  of  the  niizzen- 
mast  of  the  Guerriere  was  lowered  and  Captain 
Dacres  surrendered.  When  Lieutenant  George 
C.  Read  went  on  board  to  take  possession,  he 
found  the  spar  deck  a  horrible  spectacle.  The 
masts  and  yards  were  hanging  over  the  side, 
many  guns  were  dismounted,  and  the  bodies  of 
the  dead  and  dying  were  lying  as  they  had 
fallen,  among  the  tangle  of  ropes  and  rigging. 
The  hull  was  in  a  sinking  condition  and  in 
places  two  port-holes  had  been  knocked  into 
one. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning  the  officer  in 
charge  hailed  the  Constitution  to  say  that  the 
Guerriere  had  four  feet  of  water  in  her  hold 
and  there  was  danger  of  her  sinking.  Captain 
Hull  at  once  sent  his  boats,  removed  the  prison- 
ers, and  set  the  wreck  on  fire.  In  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  she  blew  up.  The  Constitution  then 
sailed  for  Boston  with  her  prisoners,  arriving 
August  30th. 

Congress  voted  Captain  Hull  a  gold  medal, 
with  silver  medals  for  the  officers,  and  f 50,000 
prize  money  for  officers  and  men.  A  public 


ii2  The  American  Navy 

dinner  at  Faneuil  Hall  was  also  given  in  honor 
of  Captain  Hull  and  his  officers. 

The  Constitution  again  sailed  from  Boston, 
on  October  27th,  under  command  of  Captain 
William  Bainbridge,  who  had  meanwhile  re- 
lieved Captain  Hull,  and  in  company  with  the 
Hornet  she  arrived  off  San  Salvador  on  the  13th 
of  December.  On  the  29th,  at  9  A.M.,  the  Con- 
stitution sighted  two  sails,  one  of  them  a  large 
frigate,  the  Java,  as  it  proved,  standing  directly 
for  the  American  ship.  At  12  M.  the  Constitu- 
tion showed  her  colors  and  the  stranger  set  the 
British  ensign,  both  ships  standing  off  from  the 
land.  At  1.20  P.M.  Bainbridge  furled  his  light 
sails  and  tacked  toward  the  enemy  and  at  2  P.M. 
the  action  began  on  both  sides,  each  ship 
manoeuvring  for  position.  As  in  the  light  wind 
that  prevailed  the  English  ship  sailed  best,  he 
soon  forged  ahead  and  kept  away  with  a  view 
to  cross  the  Constitution's  bow,  but  was  foiled 
by  her  wearing.  The  ships  were  a  little  too  far 
apart  for  the  eighteen-pounders  of  the  English 
ship  and  she  tried  to  close,  in  order  to  use  her 
carronades  more  effectively,  while  Bainbridge 
maintained  a  judicious  distance,  until  his  oppo- 
nent had  been  seriously  weakened.  The  Java, 
being  the  faster  ship,  attempted  three  times  to 
pass  around  the  Constitution's  bow  for  raking, 
but  Bainbridge  avoided  him  each  time,  by  firing 
a  broadside  and  quickly  wearing  around  on  the 
other  tack,  under  cover  of  the  smoke. 


ge 

h-      . 
Q     t 


Cruises  of  the  "  Constitution"      113 

About  an  hour  after  the  action  began  the  Java 
lost  her  bowsprit  and  jib-boom  and  her  com- 
mander, Captain  Lambert,  at  once  attempted  to 
lay  his  enemy  on  board,  but  as  the  ships  came 
in  contact  the  Java's  foremast  was  carried  away 
and  at  the  same  time  her  commander  fell, 
mortally  wounded  by  a  shot  from  the  maintop 
of  the  Constitution.  At  3.15  her  maintopmast 
was  shot  away  just  above  the  cap.  At  3.55  her 
mizzenmast  went  by  the  board.  Thus  in  less 
than  an  hour  the  Java  lay  a  dismantled  wreck, 
everything  above  deck,  excepting  part  of  the 
mainmast,  being  swept  by  the  devastating  fire 
of  the  Americans,  while  few  of  her  guns  could 
be  handled  on  account  of  the  wreckage. 

At  4.15  the  Constitution  hauled  ahead  to  re- 
pair her  rigging  and  examine  injuries,  and  at 
5  P.M.  she  wore  round  and  stationed  herself  on 
the  bow  of  the  Java,  which  soon  after  surren- 
dered, and  Lieutenant  Parker  was  sent  on  board 
to  take  possession,  after  a  combat  lasting  two 
hours. 

The  Java's  loss  was  forty-eight  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  two  wounded.  The  Constitution  lost 
twelve  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded,  Captain 
Bainbridge  being  among  the  latter.  The  Java 
was  literally  picked  to  pieces,  as  though  in  a 
target  practice.  Her  foremast  was  first  cut 
away  near  the  cat-harpins,  and  later  a  double- 
headed  shot  took  it  off  about  twenty  feet  above 
the  deck.  The  maintopmast  went  early,  and 


ii4  The  American  Navy 

the  mainmast  fell  as  the  Constitution  hauled 
off.  The  mizzenmast  was  shot  out  of  the  ship 
a  few  feet  from  the  deck,  and  the  bowsprit  near 
the  cap.  Her  hull  was  also  greatly  injured. 
The  Constitution,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not 
lose  a  spar.  She  went  into  action  with  her  royal 
yards  across  and  came  out  of  it  with  all  three 
of  them  in  the  places;  in  fact  she  could  have 
gone  into  action  with  another  ship  an  hour  later. 

After  lying  by  his  prize  two  or  three  days 
to  remove  all  the  prisoners,  Captain  Bainbridge 
had  the  Java  blown  up.  The  Constitution 
thereupon  made  sail  for  St.  Salvador,  where  she 
paroled  and  landed  her  prisoners.  On  Feb- 
ruary 27th,  Bainbridge  arrived  in  Boston  after 
a  successful  cruise  of  four  months.  Congress 
again  voted  medals  for  the  Commander  and 
officers  of  the  Constitution,  and  Bainbridge,  like 
his  predecessor,  Hull,  was  the  hero  of  the  hour 
in  Boston. 

Soon  after  her  arrival  in  Boston  the  Constitu- 
tion went  to  the  Navy  Yard  for  a  thorough 
overhauling  and,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Charles  Stewart,  the  good  old  ship  sailed  on  De- 
cember 18, 1814.  On  the  20th  of  February,  while 
cruising  in  the  neighborhood  of  Madeira,  two 
sails  were  sighted.  The  nearest  was  the  British 
frigate  Cyane,  34,  Captain  Gordon  Thomas  Fal- 
con ;  the  other,  the  sloop-of-war  Levant,  21,  Cap- 
tain the  Honorable  George  Douglas.  At  four 
o'clock  the  Cyane  made  sail  to  join  her  consort, 


Cruises  of  the  "Constitution"      115 

and,  meanwhile,  the  Constitution  was  bearing 
down  upon  them  under  studding-sails.  She 
opened  fire  at  five  o'clock  on  the  Cyane,  but  the 
shot  fell  short.  The  two  British  ships,  mean- 
while, were  in  consultation,  and  endeavored  to 
get  to  windward  of  the  Constitution,  with  an 
evident  intention  of  delaying  the  action  until 
nightfall,  when,  under  cover  of  the  darkness, 
they  might  hope  to  cripple  their  antagonist. 

Failing,  however,  to  outwind  the  Constitution, 
the  British  ships  at  six  o'clock  ran  up  red  Eng- 
lish ensigns  and  formed  in  line  with  the  wind 
on  the  starboard  beam,  the  Levant  ahead.  The 
Constitution  hoisted  her  colors  five  minutes  later 
and  opened  the  action  by  firing  a  shot  between 
her  two  adversaries.  Broadsides  were  at  once 
exchanged  and  for  fifteen  minutes  a  very  hot 
action  was  kept  up.  The  sea  was  covered  with 
a  light  mist,  the  moon  came  out,  while  dense 
masses  of  smoke  hung  to  leeward  of  the  com- 
batants. When  it  cleared  away,  the  Constitu- 
tion was  found  abreast  of  the  Levant  with  the 
Cyane  luffing  up  astern  to  deliver  a  raking 
broadside.  This  was  the  crucial  moment,  but 
Stewart,  splendid  old  seaman,  grasped  the  oppor- 
tunity, delivered  a  tremendous  broadside  at 
short  range  into  the  Levant,  then,  hidden  in  the 
smoke  of  his  own  guns,  braced  the  after  sails 
aback,  and  as  his  ship  gathered  sternway,  poured 
a  heavy  fire  into  the  Cyane. 

As  the  Levant  wore  to  come  to  the  assistance 


n6  The  American  Navy 

of  the  Cyane,  the  Constitution's  sails  were  again 
filled  and,  as  she  shot  ahead,  two  broadsides  were 
fired  into  the  stern  of  the  Levant  as  she  came 
to  the  wind.  At  this  juncture  Captain  Falcon, 
seeing  the  hazardous  position  of  the  Levant, 
gallantly  stood  in  between  the  Constitution  and 
his  consort  and  the  Levant  drew  out  of  the 
combat  to  repair  damages.  The  Cyane  then 
attempted  to  go  off  before  the  wind,  but  the  Con- 
stitution wore  short  around  and  gave  her  a  rak- 
ing fire  over  the  stern,  and  as  she  luffed  up  and 
fired  her  port  broadside,  Stewart  placed  his  ship 
within  hail,  on  the  port  quarter  of  the  Cyane, 
where  she  was  practically  at  his  mercy.  Cap- 
tain Falcon  then  fired  a  lee  gun  and  hoisted  a 
light  in  token  of  surrender,  just  forty  minutes 
after  the  first  broadside  had  been  fired.  His 
ship  was  hulled  a  number  of  times  between  wind 
and  water,  five  carronades  had  broken  loose,  her 
rigging  was  badly  cut  up,  and  the  main-  and 
mizzen-mast  were  seriously  injured.  Lieutenant 
Hoffman  was  sent  on  board  the  prize  with  a 
small  crew  and  her  officers  were  removed  to  the 
Constitution. 

At  7.45  Captain  Stewart  filled  away  in  pur- 
suit of  the  Levant  which  had  been  reeving  new 
braces  and  repairing  damages.  At  eight  o'clock 
the  ships  passed  each  other  and  exchanged 
broadsides  when  the  Constitution  headed  around 
her  opponent's  stern  and  raked  her.  Captain 
Douglas,  now  discovering  for  the  first  time  that 


Cruises  of  the  "Constitution"      n? 

the  Cyane  had  struck,  attempted  to  escape;  but 
it  was  too  late.  His  wheel  had  been  shot  away 
by  the  last  broadside  and  his  lower  masts  were 
badly  damaged,  so  after  a  chase  of  half  an  hour 
he  surrendered.  This  ended  the  last  great  fight 
of  the  Constitution. 

The  Constitution  and  her  prizes  were  chased 
by  a  British  squadron  and  the  Levant  was  re- 
taken from  her  anchorage  at  Porto  Praya,  but 
the  Cyane  was  brought  safely  into  New  York 
and  was  finally  taken  into  our  service.  The 
arrival  at  New  York  of  the  Constitution,  after 
her  third  successful  contest  with  British  ships- 
of-war,  caused  very  general  rejoicing,  and  Con- 
gress awarded  Captain  Stewart  a  sword  of  honor 
and  a  gold  medal.  The  colors  of  the  Cyane  and 
Levant  are  still  preserved  as  precious  relics  at 
the  Naval  Institute  at  Annapolis. 

The  skilful  manner  in  which  Captain  Stewart 
handled  his  ship  in  this  engagement  has  been 
the  subject  of  universal  praise  among  nautical 
men.  In  a  naval  combat  where  one  ship  is  en- 
gaging two,  it  is  a  most  unusual  thing  for  the 
single  ship  to  avoid  being  raked  by  one  or 
the  other  of  her  antagonists.  But  in  this  fight  the 
Constitution  was  not  once  subjected  to  a  raking 
fire,  while,  on  the  contrary,  she  repeatedly  raked 
both  of  her  antagonists,  backing  and  filling  in 
the  smoke  of  battle  and  forcing  the  British  ships 
down  to  leeward  in  a  most  brilliant  series  of 
manoeuvres. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  REMARKABLE  CRUISE  OF  THE  FRIGATE  "ESSEX" 
AND   HER   CAPTURE   IN   VALPARAISO   HARBOR 

ONE  of  the  most  romantic  and  eventful 
cruises  ever  undertaken  by  a  single  ship 
in  the  history  of  the  American  navy  was  that 
of  the  United  States  frigate  Essex,  32,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  David  Porter,  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

The  Essex  was  built  in  1799  by  subscriptions 
from  the  patriotic  citizens  of  Salem,  and  was 
presented  to  the  Government  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  American  commerce  and,  in  the 
language  of  the  donors,  "  to  chastise  French  in- 
solence and  piracy."  The  good  ship  sailed  for 
the  Indian  Ocean  under  command  of  Captain 
Edward  Preble  in  December,  1799,  and  was  the 
first  United  States  vessel  to  double  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  as  later,  in  1813,  she  was  the 
first  of  our  naval  ships  to  go  around  Cape  Horn. 
From  1802  to  1805  the  Essex  took  part  in  the 
operations  against  the  Barbary  Powers  in  the 
Mediterranean,  under  Captains  Barron,  Bain- 
bridge,  Decatur,  and  Stewart,  and  in  1811  she 
was  in  Commodore  Kodgers's  squadron  on  our 
coast. 

Porter   sailed   July  2,   1812  on   a   cruise   in 

118 


The  Cruise  of  the  " Essex"        119 

search  of  the  British  frigate  Thetis,  36,  reported 
to  be  bound  for  South  America  with  a  large 
amount  of  specie.  On  July  10th,  he  encountered 
a  fleet  transporting  a  British  regiment  from 
Barbadoes  to  Quebec,  under  convoy  of  the  frigate 
Minerva,  32,  and  he  succeeded  in  cutting  out 
one  of  the  vessels,  with  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  soldiers  on  board.  On  August  13th,  he 
captured,  after  a  brief  engagement  of  eight  min- 
utes, the  British  ship-sloop  Alert,  18,  which  was 
the  first  capture  of  an  English  cruiser  in  the 
War  of  1812. 

After  taking  the  crew  out  of  the  Alert  Porter 
now  had  five  hundred  prisoners  on  board  the 
Essex,  nearly  double  his  own  complement,  and 
only  by  the  vigilance  of  young  Farragut,  who 
was  a  midshipman  on  board,  was  an  attempt  to 
capture  the  ship  prevented.  Overhearing  the 
discussion  of  the  plot,  while  he  feigned  sleep 
in  his  hammock,  Farragut  informed  the  captain 
of  what  was  going  on  and  he  at  once  gave  the 
alarm  of  "  Fire."  The  crew  quickly  rushed  to 
quarters  and  the  prisoners  were  secured.  Porter 
then  threw  the  Alert's  guns  overboard,  made 
her  a  cartel  and  sent  the  British  prisoners  un- 
der parole  to  Nova  Scotia.  The  Essex  returned 
to  the  Delaware  September  7th,  after  a  cruise 
of  sixty  days,  in  which  she  had  captured  nine 
prizes,  recaptured  five  American  vessels,  and  had 
taken  over  five  hundred  prisoners. 

On  October  28th  the  Essex  sailed  from  the 


120  The  American  Navy 

Delaware  and  on  December  llth  captured  the 
British  packet  Nocton,  ten  guns,  with  $55,000 
specie  on  board.  Later,  while  off  Bahia,  Porter 
was  falsely  informed  that  the  Montague,  74, 
had  raised  the  blockade  of  the  Bonne  Citoyenne 
and  that  the  Constitution  and  Hornet  had  put 
to  sea.  Ignorant  of  the  two  brilliant  victories 
of  these  latter  vessels,  he  decided  upon  the  dar- 
ing scheme  of  doubling  the  Horn  and  making 
a  cruise  in  the  Pacific,  subsisting  upon  the 
enemy  while  he  made  an  unexpected  blow  at 
British  commerce  in  an  ocean  where  they  least 
expected  to  find  a  foe. 

The  Essex  rounded  the  Horn  in  February, 
1813,  encountering  severe  gales,  and  at  Valpa- 
raiso learned  that  Chile  had  declared  her  inde- 
pendence of  Spain.  Leaving  this  port  in  March, 
he  captured  the  Peruvian  cruiser  Nevada,  15, 
which  had  lately  taken  as  prize  two  American 
whalers,  the  Walker  and  the  Barclay.  Throw- 
ing the  Peruvian's  guns  and  ammunition  over- 
board, Porter  allowed  him  to  go,  with  a  warning 
against  further  depredations  upon  American 
vessels.  After  painting  his  ship,  to  resemble 
a  Spanish  merchantman,  Porter  resumed  his 
cruise  and,  fortunately  falling  in  with  the 
Barclay,  in  charge  of  her  Peruvian  crew,  he 
recaptured  her,  after  an  hour's  chase,  and  put- 
ting her  in  charge  of  one  of  his  officers,  with 
a  prize  crew,  ordered  her  to  the  Galapagos. 

On  April  29th,  he  captured  the  British  whaler 


The  Cruise  of  the  " Essex"       121 

Montezuma  with  fourteen  hundred  barrels  of 
sperm  oil,  and  the  same  day,  the  wind  having 
gone  down,  took  the  whalers  Georgiana  and 
Policy  with  his  boats.  On  these  last  two  vessels 
were  a  large  number  of  impressed  American 
sailors  who  gladly  enlisted  in  the  Essex.  These 
three  prizes,  with  their  cargoes,  were  worth  half 
a  million  dollars.  As  they  were  all  armed, 
Porter  transferred  the  guns  from  the  Policy  to 
the  Georgiana,  which  was  pierced  for  eighteen 
guns,  thus  giving  her  a  battery  of  sixteen  light 
guns,  and  fitted  her  out  as  a  cruiser.  Lieutenant 
John  Downes,  with  forty-one  men,  was  then  sent 
on  board  the  Georgiana,  the  American  flag  was 
hoisted  at  her  peak,  and  she  fired  a  salute  of 
seventeen  guns,  which  the  Essex  returned  with 
nine  guns,  the  first  salutes  ever  fired  by  Ameri- 
can men-of-war  in  the  South  Pacific  Ocean. 

On  May  28th,  while  cruising  near  Charles 
Island,  a  sail  was  sighted  to  the  northward  and 
after  chasing  all  day  the  Essex  ran  down  and 
captured  the  British  letter-of-marque  Atlantic, 
eight  eighteen-pounders.  While  taking  posses- 
sion a  sail  was  seen,  and  putting  a  midshipman 
and  eleven  men  on  board  the  Atlantic  she  was 
sent  after  the  stranger,  the  Essex  following. 
Night  came  on,  but  the  chase  was  kept  up 
until  the  vessel  was  overtaken  and  captured. 
She  proved  to  be  the  British  letter-of-marque 
Greenwich,  which  had  sailed  from  England  in 
convoy  of  the  Java. 


122  The  American  Navy 

To  the  great  satisfaction  of  Porter,  abundant 
stores  were  found  on  board  the  new  prize,  in- 
cluding one  hundred  tons  of  fresh  water,  badly 
needed  by  the  Essex,  and  also  eight  hundred 
large  tortoises,  wyhich  kept  the  American  ships 
in  fresh  provisions  for  a  month.  There  were 
also  quantities  of  cordage,  canvas,  and  paint,  so 
that  nothing  was  wanting  for  refitting  the  im- 
provised squadron,  which  now  included  the 
Essex,  forty-six  guns  and  two  hundred  and  forty- 
five  men ;  Georgiana,  sixteen  guns  and  forty-two 
men;  Greenwich,  ten  guns  and  fourteen  men; 
Atlantic,  six  guns  and  twelve  men;  Montezuma, 
two  guns  and  ten  men;  Policy,  ten  men,  and 
Barclay,  seven  men, — in  all,  a  fleet  of  seven 
ships,  with  eighty  guns  and  three  hundred  and 
forty  men,  in  addition  to  eighty  prisoners,  who 
were  now  becoming  an  incumbrance. 

Having  now  more  ships  and  prisoners  than 
he  could  well  handle,  Porter  made  sail  for  the 
mainland  and  on  June  19th  anchored  in  the 
river  Tumbez.  Lieutenant  Downes,  who  was 
cruising  offshore,  captured  a  few  days  later  the 
Catherine,  eight  guns  and  twenty-nine  men,  and 
the  Rose,  eight  guns  and  twenty-one  men.  Send- 
ing twenty  men  and  prize  masters  on  board 
these  vessels,  left  Downes  with  only  twenty  men 
and  boys  to  guard  the  fifty  prisoners.  The  same 
day  he  chased  and  captured  the  privateer  Hector, 
eleven  guns  and  twenty-five  men,  after  a  run- 
ning fight,  in  which  the  prize  lost  her  maintop- 


The  Cruise  of  the  "  Essex  "        123 

inast  and  had  two  men  killed  and  six  wounded. 

Downes  now  found  himself  with  three  prizes 
on  his  hands  and  with  but  ten  men  in  the  ship 
to  sail  the  Georgiana  and  guard  seventy-three 
prisoners.  So,  taking  a  portion  of  the  Rose's 
cargo  out  of  her  and  throwing  her  guns  over- 
board, he  made  her  a  cartel  and,  paroling  his 
prisoners,  he  put  them  on  board,  directing  them 
to  make  for  St.  Helena,  while  the  Georgiana,, 
with  her  two  remaining  prizes  rejoined  Porter 
at  Tumbez  on  June  24th. 

Porter  now  promoted  Lieutenant  Downes  to 
Master-Commandant,  giving  him  command  of 
the  Atlantic,  renamed  the  Essex  Junior,  with 
twenty  guns  and  sixty  men.  The  reorganized 
squadron  sailed  June  30,  1813,  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing Fourth  of  July  the  three  larger  vessels 
fired  salutes  of  seventeen  guns  and,  as  Porter's 
journal  says,  "  the  day  was  passed  in  the  utmost 
conviviality,"  which  can  be  readily  believed  un- 
der the  peculiarly  happy  conditions  then  exist- 
ing in  the  little  squadron,  so  strangely  brought 
together  under  the  American  flag  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

Five  days  later,  Porter  ordered  Downes  to  con- 
voy the  Hector,  Policy,  Catherine,  Montezuma, 
and  Barclay  to  Valparaiso.  Midshipman  Far- 
ragut,  then  twelve  years  of  age,  was  ordered  to 
the  command  of  the  Barclay,  but,  in  considera- 
tion of  his  tender  years,  the  former  English 
master  of  the  ship  was  sent  in  her,  as  a  kind 


124  The  American  Navy 

of  dry-nurse  for  the  future  distinguished  Ad- 
miral of  the  American  navy. 

After  appointing  a  rendezvous  for  the  Essex 
Junior,  in  September,  Captain  Porter  in  the 
Essex,  with  the  Greenwich  and  Georgiana,  made 
for  the  Galapagos  Islands.  On  July  13th,  three 
sail  were  sighted,  and  the  American  ships 
started  in  chase.  The  Essex  with  her  two  con- 
sorts overhauled  and  captured  the  Charlton,  ten 
guns,  the  Seringapatam,  fourteen  guns  and  forty 
men,  and  the  New  Zealander,  eight  guns  and 
twenty-three  men.  Porter  stripped  the  Ch'arl- 
ton  of  her  armament,  transferring  her  guns 
to  the  Seringapatam,  and  putting  forty-eight 
paroled  prisoners  on  board  started  this,  his 
second  cartel,  for  Eio  de  Janeiro.  On  the  25th, 
the  Georgiana,  with  a  full  cargo  of  oil,  was  sent 
home,  while  the  Essex,  Greenwich,  Seringapatam, 
and  New  Zealander  made  for  the  Albemarle 
Islands.  August  4th,  the  fleet  anchored  off 
James's  Island,  and,  after  changing  the  appear- 
ance of  his  ships  by  his  favorite  device  of  re- 
painting them,  Porter  put  into  Banks  Bay  with 
his  squadron. 

After  a  few  days'  rest  the  Essex  again  sailed 
on  a  cruise,  this  time  alone.  On  the  15th  of 
September,  by  keeping  up  the  appearance  of  a 
whaler,  with  his  royal-masts  housed  and  ports 
closed,  he  was  able  to  get  within  gunshot  of  a 
large  British  whaler,  having  a  letter-of-marque, 
which  he  captured.  This  ship,  the  Sir  Andrew 


The  Cruise  of  the  "  Essex  "        125 

Hammond,  twelve  guns  and  thirty-six  men, 
had  escaped  from  him  in  July  after  a  long 
chase. 

But  this  pleasant  game  was  to  come  to  an 
end.  The  news  of  the  successive  captures  of 
these  British  ships  had  reached  home,  as  Porter 
learned  upon  his  return  to  Banks  Bay,  where 
the  Essex  Junior  joined  him  on  her  return  from 
Valparaiso.  Downes  also  brought  the  unwel- 
come news  that  several  heavy  English  frigates 
were  out  in  search  of  the  Essex,  and  Porter  de- 
termined to  winter  at  Nukahiva,  in  the  Mar- 
quesas Islands,  where  he  could  overhaul  and 
refit  his  ships  in  safety. 

On  the  23d  of  October,  the  Essex,  Essex 
Junior,  Seringapatam,  Sir  Andrew  Hammond, 
and  Greenwich  anchored  at  Nukahiva.  Here 
Porter  landed,  and  in  pursuance  of  his  policy 
of  capturing  everything  in  sight,  he  took  formal 
possession  of  the  island  in  the  name  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  and  gave  it  the 
name  of  Madison's  Island.  After  erecting  and 
arming  a  fort  to  command  the  bay,  the  Essex 
was  stripped,  her  stores  were  landed,  she  was 
smoked  out  to  free  her  of  rats  with  which  she 
was  infested,  and  she  was  then  thoroughly  over- 
hauled and  refitted.  In  December,  having  com- 
pleted fitting  the  Essex,  Porter  determined  to 
go  to  sea  in  search  of  nobler  game  than  he  had 
yet  encountered.  Leaving  the  three  prizes  in 
the  harbor,  in  charge  of  Midshipmen  Feltus  and 


i26  The  American  Navy 

Clark,  with  a  garrison  of  twenty  men  in  the 
fort,  under  Lieutenant  of  Marines  John  M. 
Gamble,  Porter  sailed  on  December  12,  1813,  in 
the  Essex,  in  company  with  the  Essex  Junior, 
for  the  coast  of  South  America.  This  was  des- 
tined to  be  the  close  of  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able cruises,  in  many  respects,  ever  recorded  in 
the  naval  history  of  any  nation. 

The  two  vessels  reached  Valparaiso,  February 
3d,  where  Porter  learned  that  the  British  frigate 
Phoebe,  36,  Captain  James  Hillyar,  was  on  the 
coast  looking  for  the  Essex.  On  February  7th, 
a  reception  and  ball  was  given  on  board  the 
Essex  for  the  officers  and  citizens  of  Valparaiso. 
The  next  morning  the  Essex  Junior,  which  had 
been  cruising  outside,  signalled,  "  Two  enemy's 
ships  in  sight."  At  that  time  half  the  crew  of 
the  Essex  were  on  shore  on  liberty,  while  the 
ship  was  still  in  disorder  from  the  festivities  of 
the  previous  night. 

Porter  at  once  fired  a  gun  and  hoisted  a  recall 
for  all  boats  and  men,  but  before  they  were  on 
board,  the  Phoebe,  36,  with  the  ship-sloop  Cherub, 
18,  Captain  Tucker,  entered  the  harbor.  Cap- 
tain Hillyar,  being  informed  by  an  English 
mate,  who  went  off  in  a  shore  boat,  that  half 
of  the  crew  of  the  Essex  were  on  shore,  ran  in 
with  the  Phoebe,  on  the  wind,  and  bore  down 
for  the  Essex,  both  ships  having  their  crews  at 
quarters.  As  the  Phoebe  rounded  the  quarter 
of  the  Essex,  she  luffed  up  on  the  starboard 


o 

I 

0. 

(fl  4 

-  3 

I  •§ 

0)  g 

X  ^ 

(0  2 


The  Cruise  of  the  "Essex"        127 

bow  of  the  American  frigate,  the  two  ships  being 
within  fifteen  feet  of  each  other. 

At  this  moment,  Captain  Hillyar,  who  had 
met  Porter  in  the  Mediterranean  several  years 
before,  stood  on  an  after-gun  and  said :  "  Cap- 
tain Hillyar's  compliments  to  Captain  Porter 
and  hopes  he  is  well."  Porter  replied  from  the 
quarter-deck :  "  Very  well,  I  thank  you,  but  I 
hope  you  will  not  come  too  near,  for  fear  some 
accident  might  take  place  which  would  be  dis- 
agreeable to  you."  Then,  waving  his  trumpet, 
kedge  anchors  were  at  once  run  up  at  the  yard- 
arms  of  the  Essex,  ready  to  grapple  the  Phoebe 
should  she  close. 

Captain  Hillyar  immediately  braced  his  yards 
back,  saying  that  if  he  fell  aboard  he  begged 
to  assure  Captain  Porter  it  would  be  entirely 
accidental.  "  Well,"  replied  Porter,  "  you  have 
no  business  where  you  are.  If  you  touch  a 
ropeyarn  of  this  ship  I  shall  board  instantly." 
Then,  hailing  Lieutenant  Downes,  he  told  him 
to  be  prepared  to  repel  the  enemy.  Upon  this 
the  Phoebe  slowly  backed  astern,  her  yards  pass- 
ing over  those  of  the  Essex  without  touching  a 
rope,  and  she  anchored  half  a  mile  astern.  But 
in  accomplishing  this  manoeuvre  the  English  ship 
was  directly  exposed  to  a  raking  fire  from  the 
broadside  of  the  Essex,  while  the  Essex  Junior 
could  also  have  raked  her  under  the  stern. 

A  day  or  two  afterward  Hillyar  met  Porter 
on  shore  and  thanked  him  for  his  forbearance, 


128  The  American  Navy 

assuring  him  that  he  need  be  under  no  appre- 
hension of  his  breaking  the  blockade.  But  there 
is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  he  had  expected 
to  find  the  Essex  unprepared  and  in  a  condition 
to  be  carried  by  boarding  when  he  entered  the 
harbor. 

For  six  weeks  the  two  British  ships  stood 
guard  over  the  Essex.  Then  Porter  learned  that 
several  other  British  frigates  were  expected,  and 
having  little  confidence  in  their  respecting  the 
neutrality  of  the  port,  he  determined  to  put  to 
sea.  On  the  28th  of  March  the  Essex  parted 
her  port  cable  in  a  heavy  southerly  gale  and 
dragged  her  starboard  anchor  to  sea.  Finding 
the  blockaders  were  close  in  to  the  western  side 
of  the  bay,  Captain  Porter  took  in  his  top- 
gallantsails,  set  over  single-reefed  topsails,  and 
braced  up  to  pass  to  windward,  but  just  as  the 
Essex  was  rounding  the  Point  of  Angels  a  heavy 
squall  struck  her,  and,  before  the  topsail-yard 
could  be  got  down,  the  maintopmast  went  over 
the  side,  carrying  the  men  who  were  furling 
the  topgallantsail  overboard,  where  they  were 
drowned. 

Porter  wore  round  and  ran  into  a  small  bay 
and  anchored  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
from  a  one-gun  battery  and  within  pistol  shot 
of  the  shore. 

The  Phoebe  and  Cherub  at  once  bore  down 
upon  the  Essex  as  soon  as  Hillyar  saw  that 
Porter  was  disabled,  and  the  Essex  prepared  for 


The  Cruise  of  the  "  Essex  "       129 

action,  as  it  became  evident  that  the  English 
commander  did  not  intend  to  keep  his  word. 
Flags  were  flying  from  every  mast  of  the  Essex 
and  everything  was  made  ready  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, but  the  attack  was  made  before  springs 
could  be  got  on  her  cables.  The  American  ship 
was  anchored  so  near  the  shore  as  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  Captain  Hillyar's  passing 
ahead  of  her;  so  the  two  English  ships  came 
cautiously  down,  the  Cherub  taking  her  position 
on  the  starboard  bow  of  the  Essex,  and  the 
Phoebe  under  her  stern.  The  attack  began  at 
4  P.M.  Some  of  the  bow-guns  of  the  American 
frigate  bore  upon  the  Cherub,  and,  as  soon  as 
she  found  this  out,  the  sloop  ran  down  and  sta- 
tioned herself  near  the  Phoebe.  The  latter  had, 
meanwhile,  opened  with  her  broadside  of  long 
eighteens  from  a  position  in  which  not  one  of 
Porter's  guns  could  reach  her.  Three  times 
springs  were  got  on  the  cables  of  the  Essex  in 
order  to  bring  her  round  till  her  broadside  bore, 
but  in  each  instance  they  were  most  unfortu- 
nately shot  away  as  soon  as  they  wrere  hauled 
taut.  Three  long  twelves  were  then  got  out 
of  the  stern-ports  of  the  Essex,  and  with  these 
an  animated  fire  was  kept  up  on  the  two  British 
ships,  Porter's  intent  being  especially  to  cripple 
their  rigging.  A  good  many  of  the  American 
crew  were  killed  during  the  first  five  minutes, 
before  the  Essex  could  bring  any  guns  to  bear; 
but  afterwards  she  did  not  suffer  much,  and  at 


130  The  American  Navy 

4.20,  after  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  fight  between 
the  three  long  twelves  of  the  Essex  and  the 
whole  thirty-six  broadside  guns  of  the  Phoebe 
and  Cherub,  the  latter  were  actually  driven  off. 
The  British  ships  wore  and  again  began  with 
their  long  guns;  but,  these  producing  no  visible 
effect,  both  of  the  British  ships  hauled  out  of 
the  fight  at  4.30  P.M.  But  their  damages  were 
soon  repaired,  and  the  two  ships  stood  back 
again  for  the  crippled  foe,  determined  to  end 
the  affray.  Both  stationed  themselves  on  her 
port  quarter,  the  Phoebe  at  anchor,  with  a 
spring,  firing  her  broadside,  while  the  Cherub 
kept  under  way,  using  her  long  bow-chasers  as 
she  could  bring  them  into  play  effectively.  Their 
fire  was  very  destructive,  for  they  were  out  of 
reach  of  the  Essex's  carronades,  and  not  one 
of  her  long  guns  could  be  brought  to  bear  on 
them.  At  5.20  Porter  cut  his  cable,  and  tried 
to  close  with  his  antagonists.  After  many  in- 
effectual efforts  sail  was  made.  The  flying-jib 
halliards  was  the  only  serviceable  rope  on  the 
Essex  uncut.  That  sail  was  hoisted  and  the 
foretopsail  was  let  fall,  though  the  want  of 
sheets  and  tacks  rendered  both  sails  almost  use- 
less. Still,  the  Essex,  under  this  short  canvas, 
drove  down  on  her  assailants,  and  for  the  first 
time  got  near  enough  to  use  her  carronades. 
For  a  minute  or  two  thereafter  the  firing  was 
tremendous,  but  after  the  first  broadside  the 
Cherub  hauled  out  of  the  fight  in  great  haste, 


JOHNSTON     BLAKELY 
From  the  Dainting  by  Gimbrede 


The  Cruise  of  the  "  Essex"        131 

and  during  the  remainder  of  the  action  she  con- 
fined herself  to  using  her  bow-guns  from  a  dis- 
tance. Immediately  afterward,  the  Phoebe  also 
discreetly  edged  off,  and  opened  from  her  long 
eighteens,  out  of  range  of  Porter's  carronades. 

The  carnage  on  board  the  Essex  had  now  made 
her  decks  look  like  shambles.  One  gun  was 
manned  three  times,  fifteen  men  being  slain  at 
it,  its  captain  alone  escaping  without  a  wound. 
There  were  but  one  or  two  instances  of  flinch- 
ing; the  wounded,  many  of  whom  were  killed 
by  flying  splinters,  while  under  the  hands  of 
the  doctors,  cheered  on  their  comrades,  and 
themselves  worked  at  the  guns  like  fiends  as 
long  as  they  could  stand.  At  one  of  the  bow-guns 
was  stationed  a  young  Scotchman,  named  Bissly, 
who  had  one  leg  shot  off  close  by  the  groin. 
Using  his  handkerchief  as  a  tourniquet,  he  said, 
turning  to  his  American  shipmates :  "  I  left  my 
own  country  and  adopted  the  United  States  to 
fight  for  her.  I  hope  I  have  this  day  proved 
myself  worthy  of  the  country  of  my  adoption. 
I  am  no  longer  of  any  use  to  you  or  to  her, 
so  good-bye ! "  With  these  words  he  leaned  on 
the  sill  of  the  port  and  threw  himself  over- 
board. Lieutenant  J.  G.  Cowell  had  his  leg 
shot  off  above  the  knee,  and  his  life  might 
have  been  saved  had  it  been  amputated  at  once; 
but  the  surgeons  already  had  rows  of  wounded 
men  waiting  for  them,  and  when  it  was  proposed 
to  him  that  he  should  be  attended  to,  out  of 


132  The  American  Navy 

order,  he  replied :  "  No,  doctor,  none  of  that ; 
fair  play  's  a  jewel.  One  man's  life  is  as  dear 
as  another's;  I  would  not  cheat  any  poor  fellow 
out  of  his  turn."  So  he  stayed  at  his  post  and 
died  from  loss  of  blood. 

Finding  it  hopeless  to  try  to  close  with  his 
antagonists,  the  Essex  now  stood  for  the  land, 
Porter  intending  to  run  his  ship  ashore  and 
burn  her.  But  the  Fates  were  against  him,  for 
when  she  had  drifted  close  to  the  bluffs,  the 
wind  suddenly  shifted,  took  her  flat  aback,  and 
paid  her  head  inshore,  exposing  her  to  a  raking 
fire.  At  this  moment  Lieutenant  Downes,  com- 
manding the  Essex  Junior,  pulled  out  of  the 
harbor  in  a  boat,  through  all  the  fire,  to  see  if 
he  could  be  of  any  assistance  to  his  commander. 
Three  of  the  men  with  him,  including  an  old 
boatswain's  mate,  named  Kingsbury,  had  come 
out,  as  they  said,  expressly  "  to  share  the  fate 
of  their  old  ship  " ;  so  they  remained  aboard  the 
Essex,  and,  in  their  places,  Lieutenant  Downes 
took  some  of  the  wounded  ashore,  while  the 
Cherub  kept  up  a  tremendous  fire  upon  him.  A 
shift  of  the  wind  gave  Porter  a  faint  hope  of 
closing,  and  once  more  the  riddled  hulk  of  the 
gallant  little  American  frigate  was  headed 
toward  her  foes.  But  Hillyar,  determined  to 
take  no  chances,  put  his  helm  up  to  avoid  close 
quarters.  The  battle  was  his  already,  and  the 
cool  old  captain  was  too  shrewd  an  officer  to 
leave  anything  to  chance.  Finding  that  he 


The  Cruise  of  the  "  Essex  "       133 

could  not  close,  Porter  had  a  hawser  bent  on 
the  sheet-anchor  and  let  it  go.  This  brought 
the  ship's  head  round,  keeping  her  stationary; 
and  from  such  of  her  guns  as  were  not  dis- 
mounted and  had  men  enough  left  to  man  them, 
a  broadside  was  fired  at  the  Phoebe. 

To  add  to  the  chances  against  her,  the  Essex 
now  caught  fire;  the  flames  came  bursting  up 
the  hatchway,  and  a  quantity  of  powder  ex- 
ploded below.  Many  of  the  crew  were  knocked 
overboard  by  the  explosion  and  drowned ;  others, 
thinking  the  ship  was  about  to  blow  up,  leaped 
into  the  sea  and  tried  to  swim  to  land.  The 
frigate  had  been  shattered  to  pieces  above  the 
water-line,  although,  from  the  smoothness  of 
the  sea,  she  was  not  harmed  enough  below  to 
reduce  her  to  a  sinking  condition.  The  car- 
penter reported  that  he  alone  of  his  crew  was 
fit  for  duty;  the  others  were  dead  or  disabled. 
Lieutenant  Wilmer  was  knocked  overboard  by 
a  splinter  and  drowned;  his  little  negro  boy, 
"  Buff,"  came  up  on  deck,  and,  hearing  of  the 
disaster,  deliberately  leaped  into  the  water  and 
shared  his  master's  fate.  Lieutenant  Oden- 
heimer  was  also  knocked  overboard,  but  after- 
ward regained  the  ship.  A  shot,  glancing 
upward,  killed  four  of  the  men  who  were  stand- 
ing by  a  gun,  striking  the  last  one  in  the  head 
and  scattering  his  brains  over  his  comrades. 
The  only  commissioned  officer  left  on  duty  was 
Lieutenant  Decatur  McKnight.  The  sailing- 


134  The  American  Navy 

master,  Barnwell,  although  terribly  wounded, 
remained  at  his  post  until  he  fainted  from  loss 
of  blood. 

Of  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  men 
aboard  the  Essex  when  the  battle  began,  fifty- 
eight  had  been  killed,  sixty-six  wounded,  and 
thirty-one  drowned  ("missing"),  while  twenty- 
four  had  succeeded  in  reaching  shore.  But 
seventy-six  men  were  left  unwounded,  and  many 
of  these  had  been  bruised  or  otherwise  injured. 

It  was  evident  that  nothing  now  remained  to 
be  done,  and  at  6.20  the  Essex  surrendered  and 
was  taken  possession  of,  after  one  of  the  most 
sanguinary  and  gallantly  contested  battles  in 
naval  history.  The  Phoebe  had  lost  four  men 
killed,  including  her  first  lieutenant,  William 
Ingram,  and  seven  wounded;  the  Cherub,  one 
killed,  and  three,  including  Captain  Tucker, 
wounded.  Total,  in  both  ships,  five  killed  and 
ten  wounded.  This  difference  in  loss  was  nat- 
ural, as,  owing  to  their  having  long  guns  and 
the  choice  of  position,  the  British  had  been  able 
to  fire  ten  shots  to  the  Americans'  one. 

This  spectacular  engagement  had  been  wit- 
nessed by  thousands  of  spectators  who  crowded 
the  shore.  The  ships  were  so  near  the  land  that 
at  one  time  several  of  the  Phoebe's  shot  struck 
the  beach.  During  the  action,  Mr.  Poinsett,  the 
American  consul,  made  formal  protest  to  the 
governor  against  this  breach  of  neutrality  and 
demanded  the  protection  of  the  batteries  for  the 


DAVID    PORTER 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J.  Wood 


The  Cruise  of  the  "Essex"       135 

Essex.  But  to  this  reasonable  request  he  re- 
ceived an  evasive  reply. 

Captain  Porter  now  entered  into  an  arrange- 
ment with  Captain  Hillyar,  under  the  provisions 
of  which  the  Essex  Junior  was  converted  into  a 
cartel,  and  a  passport  wras  given,  by  means  of 
which  all  the  survivors  of  the  Essex  came  home. 
Thus  terminated  this  most  enterprising  and 
singular  cruise,  its  end  proving  as  disastrous  as 
its  commencement  had  been  fortunate. 

Farragut,  then  thirteen  years  of  age,  was  a 
midshipman  on  board  the  Essex  during  the  fight 
and  a  very  dramatic  account  of  it  is  given  in 
his  journal.  The  young  man  says  in  criticism: 

In  the  first  place  I  consider  that  our  original 
and  greatest  error  was  in  attempting  to  regain  the 
anchorage;  as  being  greatly  superior  to  the  enemy 
in  sailing  qualities  I  think  we  should  have  borne 
up  and  ran  before  the  wind.  If  we  had  come  in 
contact  with  the  Phoebe,  we  should  have  carried 
her  by  boarding;  if  she  avoided  us,  as  she  might 
have  done  by  her  greater  ability  to  mano3uvre,  then 
we  could  have  taken  her  fire  and  passed  on,  leav- 
ing both  vessels  behind  until  we  replaced  our  top- 
mast, by  which  time  they  would  have  separated,  as, 
unless  they  did  so,  it  would  have  been  no  chase,  the 
Cherub  being  a  very  dull  sailer.  [He  adds:]  If 
these  were  not  my  reflections  at  the  time,  it  was 
because  I  had  always  been  in  the  habit  of  relying 
on  the  judgment  of  others;  but  they  have  certainly 
been  my  opinions  as  far  back  as  I  can  remember 
to  have  thought  on  the  subject. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  "  WASP  "  AND  HEE  CONTESTS  WITH  THE 
"FROLIC"  AND  THE  "  REINDEER  "  AND  "  AVON." 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  TENDER  OF  THE  "  HEBRUS  " 

A  BRISK  combat — or,  as  Admiral  Farragut 
would  have  styled  it,  "one  of  the  little 
elegancies  of  the  profession  " — was  the  fight  in 
the  War  of  1812  between  the  United  States  ship- 
sloop  Wasp  and  the  British  brig-of-war  Frolic, 
which  resulted  in  her  capture  by  the  American 
cruiser. 

The  Wasp,  18,  Captain  Jacob  Jones,  with  one 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  men,  left  the  Delaware 
on  November  13,  1812,  and  ran  off  southeast,  to 
get  into  the  track  of  the  West  India  traders. 
Encountering  a  heavy  gale  the  next  day  she  lost 
her  jib-boom  and  two  men  who  were  upon  it. 
On  the  17th,  the  weather  having  moderated,  she 
sighted  several  sails  which  proved  to  be  part 
of  a  convoy  of  merchantmen  from  Honduras 
bound  for  England,  under  convoy  of  the  Frolic, 
19,  Captain  Thomas  Whingates. 

In  the  gale  of  the  16th,  in  which  the  Wasp 
had  lost  her  jib-boom,  the  Frolic  also  lost  her 
main-yard  and  both  vessels  had  passed  the  next 

two  days  in  repairing  damages.     On  the  18th 

136 


Q      -3 

z    "3 


The  "Wasp"  and  her  Contests    137 

the  Wasp  sent  down  topgallant-yards,  close 
reefed  her  topsails  and  bore  down  for  the  Frolic 
under  short  fighting  canvas.  The  Frolic  lashed 
her  damaged  yard  on  deck  and  hauled  by  the 
wind  under  her  boom  mainsail  and  close  reefed 
foretop-sail,  hoisting  Spanish  colors,  to  decoy  her 
adversary  and  to  permit  her  convoy  to  escape. 
By  11.30  A.M.  the  ships  were  close  together,  run- 
ning on  the  starboard  tack,  parallel  and  not 
more  than  sixty  yards  apart,  and  the  firing  be- 
gan, the  Wasp  from  her  port,  and  the  Frolic 
from  her  starboard  battery.  The  fire  of  the 
Englishmen  was  very  rapid,  they  delivering 
three  broadsides  to  the  Wasp's  two,  both  crews 
cheering  loudly  as  the  ships  plunged  and  wal- 
lowed through  the  water.  There  was  a  heavy 
sea  running,  left  by  the  late  gale,  which  caused 
the  vessels  to  roll  and  pitch  severely.  The 
Americans  fired  as  their  port  side  was  going 
down,  aiming  at  the  Frolic's  hull,  while  the 
English  fired  on  the  upward  roll,  their  shot 
going  high. 

The  spray  flew  in  clouds  over  both  vessels, 
which  rolled  the  muzzles  of  their  guns  under 
water,  but  in  spite  of  this,  the  firing  wras  spirited 
and,  in  the  main,  well  directed.  In  five  minutes 
the  Wasp's  maintop-mast  was  shot  away  and  it 
fell  across  the  port  fore  and  foretop-sail  braces, 
thus  rendering  her  head  yards  unmanageable. 
Ten  minutes  later  her  gaff  and  mizzentop-gallant 
mast  came  down,  and  by  twelve  o'clock  every 


138  The  American  Navy 

brace,  and  most  of  her  rigging  was  shot  away, 
so  that  it  was  actually  impossible  to  brace  her 
yards. 

But,  meanwhile,  the  Frolic,  in  turn,  had  suf- 
fered dreadfully  in  her  hull  and  lower  masts, 
and  her  gaff  and  head  braces  were  also  shot 
away.  The  slaughter  among  her  crew  was  also 
very  great,  but  the  survivors  still  kept  at  their 
guns  with  dogged  courage.  At  first  the  two  ves- 
sels ran  side  by  side,  but  the  Wasp  gradually 
forged  ahead,  until  her  bends  rubbed  against 
her  antagonist's  bows.  Here  the  vessels  came 
foul,  the  Frolic's  bowsprit  coming  in  over  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  Wasp  and  passing  over  the 
heads  of  Captain  Jones  and  Lieutenant  Diddle, 
who  were  standing  by  the  capstan.  This  forced 
her  bows  up  into  the  wind  and  enabled  the 
Americans  to  throw  in  a  close  and  devastating 
raking  fire  that  swrept  the  deck  of  their  adversary. 

The  impetuosity  of  the  Wasp's  crew  could 
now  no  longer  be  restrained;  Jack  Land,  a  sea- 
man from  New  Jersey,  leaped  on  the  Frolic's 
bowsprit.  Lieutenant  Biddle  then  mounted  the 
hammock-netting  to  board,  but  got  his  feet  en- 
tangled in  some  rigging,  and  one  of  the  midship- 
men seizing  his  coat-tails  to  help  himself  up,  the 
lieutenant  tumbled  back  on  the  deck.  As  the 
ship  rose  to  the  next  swell  Biddle  succeeded, 
however,  in  getting  on  the  Frolic's  bowsprit,  on 
which  were  already  one  or  two  seamen  of  his 
own  ship,  but,  to  their  surprise,  no  one  was 


The  "Wasp"  and  her  Contests    139 

found  to  oppose  them.  A  terrible  spectacle  was 
presented  to  the  victors.  Scarcely  any  of  the 
English  crew  were  standing :  a  lieutenant,  bleed- 
ing from  many  wounds,  was  leaning  against  the 
companion-way  and  a  sorely  wounded  quarter- 
master clung  to  the  wheel.  Every  living  officer 
on  board  was  wounded  and  two  were  dead.  The 
decks  were  strewn  with  dead  and  dying,  and 
the  water  that  washed  from  side  to  side  across 
the  deck,  as  the  brig  rolled,  was  dyed  with 
blood. 

The  victorious  Americans  pushed  their  way 
through  the  dead  and  wounded  to  the  quarter- 
deck, where  the  surviving  officers  dropped  their 
swords  in  submission,  as  Lieutenant  Biddle  him- 
self hauled  down  the  British  flag  at  a  quar- 
ter past  12 — just  forty-three  minutes  after  the 
action  commenced.  The  Frolic's  masts  went  by 
the  board  almost  immediately  after. 

The  Frolic's  total  loss  was  over  ninety;  thirty 
being  killed  outright.  The  Wasp  had  five  men 
killed  and  five  wounded. 

The  Frolic  had  scarcely  been  taken  possession 
of  when  a  large  sail  was  seen  standing  toward 
the  scene  of  combat.  Instructions  were  at  once 
given  Lieutenant  Biddle  to  make  the  best  of  his 
wray  to  Charleston  with  the  prize  and  the  Wasp 
began  to  make  sail,  with  the  intention  of  con- 
tinuing her  cruise,  but  on  loosening  her  sails 
and  turning  out  the  reefs  from  her  topsails  they 
were  found  to  be  nearly  in  ribbons  cut  by  the 


140  The  American  Navy 

shot  of  the  enemy,  and  she  was  thus  prevented 
from  making  her  escape.  The  stranger,  who 
proved  to  be  H.  B.  M.  Poictiers,  74,  hove  a  shot 
over  the  Frolic,  in  passing,  and  ranging  up  near 
the  Wasp,  both  vessels  were  captured.  They 
were  taken  into  Bermuda  and  Captain  Jones 
and  his  crew  were  paroled  and  soon  after 
returned  home. 

On  May  1,  1814,  the  new  Wasp  sailed  from 
Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  under  command  of 
Captain  Johnston  Blakely,  on  a  cruise.  She  ran 
off  the  coast  without  molestation,  keeping  to  the 
eastward,  until,  on  June  28th,  at  quarter  past 
4  A.M.,  being  then  in  the  chops  of  the  English 
Channel,  she  sighted  two  sails  a  little  forward 
of  the  lee  beam. 

The  weather  was  fine,  the  wind  light,  and  the 
sea  exceedingly  smooth.  While  keeping  away  in 
the  chase,  another  sail  was  sighted  on  the  weather 
beam,  and  Captain  Blakely  brought  his  ship 
up  to  the  wind  to  close  with  this  most  weatherly 
of  his  antagonists. 

At  10,  the  chase  showed  English  colors  and 
began  to  signal.  At  noon  she  repeated  her 
signals  and  fired  a  gun.  At  1.15  P.M..,  Captain 
Blakely,  believing  he  could  weather  the  chase, 
tacked.  The  Englishman  also  tacked,  and  stood 
off  mano3uvring  for  the  weather-gage.  The 
Wasp  now  fired  a  gun  to  windward  and  showed 
her  ensign,  and  the  enemy,  a  large  man-of-war 
brig,  accepted  the  defiance,  and  at  2.32  P.M. 


ADMIRAL  DAVID  GLASGOW  FARRAQUT,  U.S.N. 
From  a  photograph  taken  in  New  Orleans  in  1862 


The  "Wasp"  and  her  Contests    141 

tacked  and  hauled  down  her  staysails  as  the 
Wasp  took  in  her  light  sails. 

At  2.50  Captain  Blakely,  seeing  that  his  oppo- 
nent would  weather  him,  made  another  tack, 
wrhile  the  Englishman  ran  up  his  flying  jib  to 
close,  and  crept  down  on  the  weather  quarter 
of  the  American,  about  sixty  yards  distant,  firing 
his  forecastle  gun  five  times  into  the  Wasp  before 
she  could  bring  a  gun  to  bear. 

This  galling  fire  for  eleven  minutes,  from  a 
twrelve-pounder  loaded  with  round  and  grape  at 
such  short  range,  was  borne  by  the  crew  of  the 
Wasp  with  the  utmost  steadiness  and  subordina- 
tion. The  men  stood  quietly  to  their  guns  until 
they  could  be  brought  to  bear  and  then  served 
them  with  a  vigor  that  was  shown  in  the  wreck 
they  made  of  their  enemy. 

The  British  captain  made  a  most  gallant  fight 
from  first  to  last,  and  his  approach  on  the 
Wasp's  quarter  was  a  very  excellent  piece  of 
seamanship,  but  fate  and  the  odds  were  against 
him.  As  the  English  brig  drew  ahead,  Captain 
Blakely  put  his  helm  down  and,  luffing  up,  made 
a  half -board,  firing  from  aft  forward  as  his  guns 
bore.  As  the  water  was  smooth  and  the  fire 
was  deliberate,  every  shot  told  with  terrible 
effect. 

The  enemy  now  kept  away,  running  the  Wasp 
aboard  on  her  starboard  quarter  at  3.40,  the 
vessels  fouling.  The  English  crew,  led  by  their 
commander,  who  fell  dead  in  the  attempt,  made 


142  The  American  Navy 

several  determined  attempts  to  board,  but  were 
each  time  repulsed  with  the  utmost  steadiness. 
At  3.44  Captain  Blakely  gave  the  order  to  board, 
when  his  men  quickly  sprang  into  the  rigging 
of  the  English  brig  with  loud  shouts,  and  within 
one  minute  after  they  reached  her  deck  the 
British  ensign  was  lowered,  the  action  having 
lasted  but  nineteen  minutes  after  the  Wasp  fired 
her  first  gun,  or  twenty-eight  minutes  from  the 
time  the  English  ship  opened  the  engagement. 
The  only  unwounded  officer  left  to  surrender  the 
vessel  was  a  master's  mate. 

The  prize  proved  to  be  H.  B.  M.  brig  sloop-of- 
war  Reindeer.,  Captain  William  Manners,  mount- 
ing eighteen  twenty-four-pound  carronades  and 
one  bow  gun,  with  a  complement  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  men.  Her  loss  was  twenty- 
five  killed,  including  Captain  Manners,  and 
forty-two  wounded,  among  these  the  first  lieu- 
tenant and  master.  The  Wasp  had  five  killed 
and  twenty-two  wounded,  including  two  mid- 
shipmen, who  subsequently  died. 

The  Reindeer  was  literally  cut  to  pieces  in  a 
line  with  her  ports,  her  upper  works,  boats,  and 
spare  spars  being  one  entire  wreck,  and  when 
the  breeze  sprang  up  the  next  day  her  foremast 
fell.  As  the  British  ship  was  so  seriously  dam- 
aged Captain  Blakely  burned  her,  and  after 
putting  a  portion  of  his  wounded  prisoners  on 
board  a  neutral  vessel  proceeded  to  L'Orient 
with  the  Wasp,  reaching  that  port  on  July  8th. 


The  "  Wasp  "  and  her  Contests    143 

Captain  Blakely  remained  in  port  refitting 
until  the  27th  of  August,  when  he  sailed  for 
another  cruise.  Within  two  days  he  captured 
two  prizes,  and  on  September  1st  cut  out  a 
vessel  loaded  with  guns  and  military  stores  from 
a  fleet  of  ten  sail  of  merchantmen  convoyed  by 
the  Armada,  74.  In  attempting  to  seize  another 
he  was  chased  away  by  the  enemy. 

That  same  evening,  while  running  free,  four 
sails  were  sighted,  two  on  the  larboard  and  two 
on  the  starboard  bow.  The  Wasp  was  hauled 
up  for  the  most  weatherly  of  the  four,  and  at 
7  P.M.  the  chase  began  signalling  with  flags,  lan- 
terns, rockets,  and  guns.  Blakely  paid  no  at- 
tention to  these,  but  kept  his  course,  and  by 
9.20  he  had  the  enemy  on  his  lee  bow  within 
hail,  and  ordered  her  to  heave  to,  which  she 
declined  to  do.  The  Wasp  then  fired  a  gun  at 
her.  The  shot  was  at  once  returned,  when 
Blakely  put  his  helm  up  and  passed  to  leeward 
to  prevent  the  enemy  from  escaping,  both  vessels 
hailing. 

At  9.29  the  Wasp  ranged  up  alongside  and 
opened  the  engagement  with  a  broadside,  and 
the  firing  was  continued  at  close  range  with 
great  severity,  although  the  darkness  was  in- 
tense and  a  heavy  swell  was  running.  At  ten 
the  fire  of  the  enemy  had  ceased,  and  Captain 
Blakely  hailed  to  learn  if  she  had  surrendered. 
But  as  no  reply  was  given  and  a  few  more  guns 
were  fired  from  the  English  ship,  the  Wasp 


144  The  American  Navy 

poured  in  another  broadside  and  the  enemy's 
mainmast  went  by  the  board. 

At  10.12,  as  there  was  no  response  to  his  guns, 
Captain  Blakely  hailed  again  and  asked  if  she 
had  surrendered,  and  was  answered  in  the  af- 
firmative. The  Wasp's  boat  was  then  lowered 
to  take  possession,  but  as  she  struck  the  water 
another  vessel  was  seen  coming  up  fast  astern 
and  the  boat  was  at  once  rehoisted  and  the  crew 
were  sent  back  to  their  guns.  At  10.36  two  more 
sails  were  sighted  astern  and  it  became  neces- 
sary to  abandon  the  prize. 

Captain  Blakely  ran  his  ship  dead  off  before 
the  wind,  in  order  to  reeve  new  braces  in  place 
of  those  shot  away,  trusting  to  induce  one  of 
the  strangers  to  follow  where  he  could  try  con- 
clusions with  him  apart  from  his  consorts.  But 
as  the  British  vessel  got  within  range  of  the 
Wasp  she  hauled  her  wind  across  the  American's 
stern  and  fired  a  broadside,  but  then  as  the 
Wasp's  first  antagonist  was  firing  guns  of  dis- 
tress she  abandoned  the  chase  and  returned  to 
her  crippled  friend. 

It  was  afterward  learned  that  the  defeated 
vessel  was  H.  B.  M.  brig  Avon,  18,  Captain  the 
Hon.  James  Arbuthnot.  The  brig  that  followed 
the  Wasp  was  the  Castilian,  18,  and  one  of  the 
other  vessels  in  sight  was  H.  B.  M.  Tartarus, 
20.  The  Avon  was  so  much  cut  up  that  she 
sunk,  her  crew  being  saved  by  the  Castilian  with 
great  difficulty.  The  Avon's  loss  was  from 


ISAAC    CHAUIMCEY 
From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J.  Wood 


The  "  Wasp  "  and  her  Contests    145 

thirty  to  fifty.  The  Wasp  had  only  two  killed 
and  one  wounded. 

On  September  12th,  the  Wasp  took  the  brig 
Three  Brothers,  and  on  the  14th,  the  brig 
Bacchus.  Both  these  vessels  were  scuttled,  and 
on  the  21st,  in  latitude  33°  12'  N.,  longitude 
14°  56'  W.,  near  the  Azores,  she  took  the  brig 
Atlanta,  8. 

As  this  was  a  valuable  prize,  Midshipman 
Geisinger  was  sent  home  in  charge  of  her,  and 
she  arrived  safely  in  Savannah,  November  4th, 
bringing  the  last  direct  intelligence  ever  received 
of  the  Wasp. 

Some  time  afterward  it  was  learned  from  the 
master  of  the  Swedish  brig  Adonis  that  on 
October  9,  1814,  he  was  chased  by  a  ship  and 
later  boarded  by  a  boat  from  the  U.  S.  S.  Wasp 
in  latitude  18°  35'  N.,  longitude  30°  10'  W.  The 
Swede  had  on  board  as  passengers  Acting- 
Lieutenant  McKnight  and  Master's  Mate  Lynn, 
both  of  the  Essex,  who  had  been  exchanged 
at  Valparaiso  by  Captain  Hillyar.  These  gen- 
tlemen were  transferred  to  the  Wasp  at  their 
own  request  and  the  vessels  parted.  This  was 
sixteen  days  after  Mr.  Geisinger  left  the  Wasp, 
and  is  the  last  that  was  ever  heard  of  the  gallant 
little  vessel. 

During  the  forty  days  the  saucy  little  Wasp 
was  cruising  in  the  English  Channel,  from  June 
2d  to  July  6th,  and  from  August  30th  to  Sep- 
tember 1st,  she  captured  and  destroyed  one 


146  The  American  Navy 

ship,  one  bark,  one  galliot,  six  brigs,  and  one 
schooner,  beside  burning  and  sinking  two  British 
man-of-war  brigs;  and  from  September  1st  to 
the  21st  she  destroyed  two  brigs  and  sent  one 
home  as  a  prize.  And  this  sharp  work  wras 
actually  done  while  the  English  Channel  was 
patrolled  by  a  British  fleet  numbering  thirty-five 
ships  of  various  sizes,  mounting  over  one  thou- 
sand guns. 

CAPTURE    OP    THE    TENDER    OF    THE    BRITISH    FRIGATE 
"  HEBRUS  " 

A  dashing  little  affair  was  the  capture  of  the 
tender  of  the  British  frigate  Hebrus  in  January, 
1815.  Captain  Dent,  who  was  in  command  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  obtained  informa- 
tion that  a  party  of  officers  and  men  belonging 
to  the  Hebrus,  Captain  Palmer,  were  watering 
at  one  of  the  islands  in  the  vicinity  and  he 
directed  Lieutenant  Lawrence  Kearney  to  pro- 
ceed outside  with  three  barges  to  cut  them  off, 
while  a  party  of  militia  endeavored  to  assail 
them  by  land.  The  frigate  was  at  anchor  out- 
side, out  of  gun-shot,  but  as  soon  as  she  per- 
ceived the  design  of  the  Americans,  she  fired 
guns  and  made  other  signals  of  recall,  when  two 
of  the  boats  pulled  toward  her,  and  a  tender, 
that  contained  a  strong  party,  attempted  to  run 
out  also. 

Fortunately  the  wind  shifted,  bringing  the 
Hebrus  to  windward  of  the  American  barges, 


The  "Wasp"  and  her  Contests    147 

but  the  tender  was  still  to  leeward  of  them. 
Discovering  his  advantage,  Lieutenant  Kearney 
determined  to  make  a  dash  at  the  latter,  re- 
gardless of  the  frigate  and  of  the  two  boats  that 
were  pulling  off.  The  Hebrus,  perceiving  the 
danger  in  which  her  tender  was  now  placed, 
made  the  greatest  exertions  to  save  her.  Shots 
were  fired  at  her  own  cutters  to  drive  them  back 
to  the  assistance  of  the  tender,  and  a  third  boat 
was  sent  from  the  frigate  with  the  same  object. 
The  frigate  also  opened  fire  on  the  American 
barges  with  much  effect,  one  shot  taking  off  the 
head  of  a  man  at  Lieutenant  Kearney's  side. 
But  this  gallant  officer,  disregarding  everything 
but  his  object,  laid  the  tender  aboard  in  the 
steadiest  manner,  and  carried  her  off  directly 
under  the  guns  of  the  frigate  to  which  she  be- 
longed. The  Hebrus 's  launch  wras  also  taken, 
her  people  having  hurried  on  board  the  tender 
when  the  alarm  was  given.  The  tender  had  a 
carronade  and  six  brass  swivels  in  her,  beside 
small  arms.  The  prisoners  captured  numbered 
forty. 

A  few  days  later  Lieutenant  Kearney,  with 
twenty-five  men  in  the  launch  captured  from  the 
Hebrus,  went  out  and  captured  another  tender, 
belonging  to  the  frigate  Severn,  with  a  crew  of 
thirty  or  forty  men.  Lieutenant  Kearney  was 
later  in  command  of  the  Enterprise  in  the 
Mediterranean  squadron,  1816-1819. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  "  HORNET "  CAPTURES  THE  BRITISH  SHIPS 
"  PEACOCK  "  AND  "  PENGUIN  "  AND  THE  "  PEA- 
COCK" CAPTURES  THE  "EPERVIER."  CAPTURE 
OF  "MACEDONIAN"  BY  THE  "UNITED  STATES." 


THE  Constitution  and  Hornet,  the  latter  un- 
der the  command  of  Captain  James  Law- 
rence, sailed  from  the  United  States  in  October, 
1812,  and  on  February  24,  1813,  while  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Demerara  Kiver,  a  brig  was  sighted 
to  leeward  and  the  Hornet  started  in  shore,  in 
chase,  until  she  found  herself  in  less  than  five 
fathoms  of  water.  The  chase  showing  English 
colors,  and  having  all  the  appearances  of  a  vessel- 
of-war,  Lawrence  determined  to  attack  her. 
While  beating  around  the  Carabana  bank,  which 
lay  between  the  Hornet  and  the  strange  brig, 
another  sail  was  made  on  the  weather  quarter, 
evidently  edging  down  on  the  Hornet.  Law- 
rence, however,  continued  working  to  windward 
in  pursuit  of  his  first  chase  until  4.20  P.MV  when 
the  second  vessel  showed  English  colors  and  was 
made  out  to  be  a  large  man-of-war  brig. 

The  Hornet  was  at  once  cleared  for  action 
and  the  crew  went  to  quarters,  the  ship  being 

kept  close  to  the  wind  to  gain  the  weather-gage, 

148 


"  Hornet"  Captures  British  Ships    149 

the  enemy  running  free.  At  5.10,  feeling  as- 
sured that  he  could  weather  the  Englishman, 
Captain  Lawrence  broke  out  his  colors  and 
tacked.  The  two  vessels  were  now  standing 
toward  each  other,  both  close  by  the  wind,  the 
Hornet  on  the  starboard  and  the  enemy  on  the 
port  tack.  At  5.25  they  passed  each  other 
within  half  pistol-shot,  delivering  the  fire  of 
their  batteries  as  the  guns  bore.  The  English- 
man suffered  severely  in  the  hull  from  this  first 
fire,  while  the  Hornet  was  untouched,  save  aloft, 
where  one  man  was  killed  in  the  mizzen-top  by 
a  round  shot,  two  were  wounded  in  the  maintop, 
and,  strange  to  say,  the  pennant  of  the  ship  was 
cut  off  by  a  deflected  shot. 

As  the  Englishman  cleared  the  Hornet's  stern 
he  put  his  helm  hard  up,  intending  to  wear  short 
round  and  rake  with  his  starboard  guns,  but 
Lawrence  saw  the  mano3uvre,  and  immediately 
imitated  it,  bringing  the  Hornet  down  on  the 
enemy's  quarter  where  she  closed,  pouring  in 
such  a  terrific  fire  that  the  English  captain  was 
killed,  with  many  of  his  crew,  and  within  four- 
teen minutes  after  the  first  shot,  the  enemy  not 
only  lowered  his  ensign,  but  at  once  hoisted  it 
in  the  fore  rigging  as  a  signal  of  distress,  and 
at  5.40  his  mainmast  fell. 

Lieutenant  J.  T.  Shubrick,  who  was  sent  on 
board  to  take  possession,  soon  returned  with  the 
information  that  the  prize  was  ET.  B.  M.  sloop-of- 
Avar  Peacock,  20,  Captain  Peake,  and  that  she 


150  The  American  Navy 

was  fast  sinking,  having  already  six  feet  of 
water  in  her  hold.  Lawrence  at  once  anchored 
and  despatched  his  third  lieutenant  and  a  mid- 
shipman with  boats  to  take  out  the  wounded, 
with  orders  to  anchor  the  prize,  and,  if  possible, 
to  save  the  vessel.  Every  exertion  was  made  to 
that  end:  the  Peacock's  guns  were  thrown  over- 
board, the  shotholes  at  the  water  line  were 
plugged,  the  pumps  rigged,  and  recourse  was 
even  had  to  bailing.  But  all  efforts  to  save  the 
prize  were  of  no  avail,  for  suddenly  the  brig 
lurched  and  then  settled,  in  five  and  a  half 
fathoms  of  water,  carrying  down  with  her  three 
of  the  Hornet's  and  nine  of  the  Peacock's  crew, 
who  were  below.  As  her  masts  remained  above 
water  four  of  the  English  sailors  saved  their 
lives  by  running  into  the  foretop.  The  launch 
floated  from  the  Peacock's  deck  as  she  went  down 
and  a  number  of  men  scrambled  into  the  boat 
and,  having  no  oars,  were  forced  to  paddle  with 
pieces  of  boards  toward  the  Hornet  until  they 
were  taken  off  by  her  cutters. 

In  this  brief  engagement  the  captain  of  the 
Peacock  and  seven  men  were  killed  and  thirty- 
three  were  wounded.  The  Hornet  had  but  three 
wounded,  and  by  nine  o'clock  that  night,  new 
sails  were  bent,  the  ship  cleared  and  she  was 
ready  for  action  if  the  brig  inshore,  the  Es- 
piegle,  18,  had  decided  to  come  out  and  attack 
her.  Finding  that  he  had  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  prisoners  on  board,  a  number  greater 


"Hornet"  Captures  British  Ships    151 

than  that  of  his  own  crew,  and  his  water  and 
stores  running  short,  Lawrence  decided  to  re- 
turn to  New  York,  where  he  was  warmly  re- 
ceived and  Congress  granted  him  a  medal  and 
a  sword  of  honor.  He  was  promoted  to  post 
captain  and  by  sad  mischance  was  ordered  to 
the  command  of  the  ill-fated  Chesapeake. 

In  March,  1815,  the  U.  S.  S.  Hornet,  then 
under  the  command  of  Captain  James  Biddle, 
while  off  the  island  of  Tristan  d'Acunha, 
sighted  a  vessel  which  proved  to  be  the  British 
brig-sloop-of-war  Penguin,  19,  Captain  Dicken- 
son.  She  was  new  the  previous  September  and 
carried  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men.  As 
she  was  looking  for  American  privateers  she 
approached  the  Hornet  head  on  to  conceal  her 
broadside  battery.  When  the  strange  sail  was 
sighted  from  aloft  Captain  Biddle  was  just  clew- 
ing up  her  top-sails,  but  he  at  once  sheeted  them 
home  and  made  all  sail  to  the  westward  in  chase. 
The  wind  was  fresh  and  the  Penguin  was  to 
windward,  but  without  manoeuvring  the  Hornet 
hove  to,  to  allow  her  antagonist  to  close,  then 
filled  her  maintop-sail  and  yawed,  wearing  occa- 
sionally to  prevent  being  raked. 

At  1.41  being  within  musket-shot,  the  Penguin 
hauled  to  the  wind  on  the  starboard  tack,  hoisted 
a  St.  George  ensign,  and  fired  a  gun.  Upon  this 
challenge  the  Hornet  luffed  upon  the  same  tack, 
broke  out  her  flag,  and  the  action  began  with 
heavy  broadsides.  The  two  vessels  kept  up  a 


152  The  American  Navy 

very  sharp  fire  for  fifteen  minutes,  gradually 
closing,  until  Captain  Dickenson  put  his  helm 
up  and  ran  the  Hornet  aboard  on  the  starboard 
side,  the  Penguin's  bowsprit  coming  in  between 
the  main  and  mizzen-rigging  of  the  American 
and  projecting  over  her  deck. 

As  the  ships  closed  Captain  Dickenson  fell, 
mortally  wounded,  but  Lieutenant  McDonald 
made  a  gallant  effort  to  lead  his  men  on  board 
the  Hornet,  an  effort  that  failed  through  the 
unwillingness  of  the  British  sailors  to  follow 
their  brave  leader.  "  We  tried,"  said  McDonald 
afterward,  "  but  found  the  men  rather  backward 
and  so,  you  know,  we  concluded  to  give  it  up." 
The  American  crew  had  been  called  to  repel 
boarders,  but,  finding  no  opponents,  they  were 
preparing,  in  their  turn,  to  board  the  Penguin, 
when  they  were  recalled  by  Captain  Biddle.  A 
heavy  sea  was  running  and  as  the  Hornet  forged 
ahead  the  Penguin's  bowsprit  carried  away  her 
mizzen-shrouds,  stern  davits,  and  spanker-boom, 
and  she  swung  around  on  the  American's  port 
quarter,  where  neither  ship  could  bring  her 
broadside  guns  to  bear.  Afterward  the  Pen- 
guin's foremast  fell  on  board  the  Hornet, 
covering  her  port  guns  so  they  could  not  be 
used. 

Captain  Biddle  now  wore  his  ship  round  to 
bring  the  starboard  battery  into  play,  when  one 
of  the  English  officers  called  out  something 
which  Biddle  understood  to  be  "  surrender  "  and 


"  Hornet"  Captures  British  Ships    153 

directing  his  marines  to  cease  firing  he  jumped 
up  on  the  taffrail.  At  that  moment  two  marines 
on  the  Penguin's  forecastle,  not  thirty  feet  dis- 
tant, fired  at  the  American  captain,  one  of  the 
balls  inflicting  a  severe  wound  in  the  neck.  An 
immediate  volley  of  musketry  from  the  Hornet 
killed  both  the  marines,  and  as  the  ship  drew 
ahead,  the  Penguin's  foremast  went  overboard, 
breaking  her  bowsprit  short  off.  The  Hornet 
at  once  wore,  bringing  a  fresh  broadside  to  bear, 
and  at  2.02,  as  she  rounded  to,  a  score  of  men 
sprung  up  on  the  forecastle  of  the  Penguin,  hold- 
ing up  their  hands  and  shouting  that  they  had 
struck.  This  was  twenty-two  minutes  after  the 
first  gun  was  fired. 

The  Penguin's  hull  was  riddled,  her  fore-mast 
and  bowsprit  gone,  her  main-mast  tottering  and 
most  of  her  starboard  guns  dismounted,  while 
she  had  lost  one  third  of  her  men,  fourteen  killed 
and  twenty-eight  wounded,  or  forty-two  in  all. 
The  officers  of  the  Penguin  said  that  during  the 
action  a  thirty-two-pound  shot  came  in  through 
their  larboard  after  port,  carried  away  six  legs, 
killed  the  powder-boy  of  the  division,  capsized 
the  opposite  gun  on  the  starboard  side  and 
passed  through  the  port  into  the  sea.  The 
Hornet  had  not  been  struck  by  a  single  round 
shot  in  the  hull,  nor  was  a  mast  or  spar  mate- 
rially injured,  although  her  rigging  was  a  good 
deal  cut  up.  Her  loss  was  two  killed  and  nine 
wounded.  The  Penguin  was  so  cut  up  that, 


i$4  The  American  Navy 

after    taking    out    her   stores,    Captain    Biddle 
ordered  her  to  be  destroyed. 

That  day  the  U.  S.  Peacock  and  Tom  Bowline 
joined  company  with  the  Hornet,  and  the  prison- 
ers from  the  Penguin  were  sent  to  Rio  de  Janeiro 
in  the  Tom  Bowline  as  a  cartel,  while  the  other 
two  ships  continued  their  cruise  to  the  East 
Indies.  On  April  27th  they  were  chased  by  the 
British  seventy-four-gun  ship  Cornwallis.  The 
Peacock  being  a  swift  ship  easily  escaped,  but 
the  Hornet  was  pursued  for  two  days,  mean- 
while throwing  overboard  her  launch,  anchors 
and  cable,  spare  spars,  and  everything  about 
the  decks,  cutting  away  her  top-gallant  fore-castle 
and  finally  in  the  effort  to  escape  casting  into 
the  sea  all  her  guns  but  one.  The  shot  from 
the  Cornwallis' s  bow  chasers  were  flying  about  the 
Hornet,  fortunately  but  three  striking  her,  but 
the  gallant  Biddle  held  on  until  about  2  P.M. 
on  the  second  day  the  breeze  freshened  and 
worked  to  the  westward,  bringing  the  Hornet 
more  to  windward,  when  she  began  to  draw  away 
from  her  pursuer  and  by  half-past  9  that  night 
the  Cornwallis  abandoned  the  chase  and  the  poor 
little  Hornet — or  what  was  left  of  her — escaped. 
In  sorry  case  indeed,  with  but  one  gun,  and 
neither  anchor,  cable  nor  boat,  the  proud  victor 
over  the  Peacock  and  the  Penguin  made  the 
best  of  her  way  to  St.  Salvador,  where  Captain 
Biddle  heard  the  news  of  peace  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  and,  after  re- 


o    "c 

z     a 

<      as 


"Hornet"  Captures  British  Ships    155 

fitting,  sailed  for  New  York,  having  fought  and 
won  the  last  regular  action  of  the  war  at  sea. 

Upon  his  arrival  Commander  Biddle  learned 
that  he  had  been  promoted  to  post  captain  while 
at  sea.  The  citizens  of  New  York  gave  him  a 
state  dinner,  his  native  city,  Philadelphia,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  service  of  plate,  and  Congress 
awarded  him  a  gold  medal. 

The  Peacock,  18,  Captain  Warrington,  went 
to  sea  from  New  York  in  March,  1814,  and  while 
cruising  along  the  Florida  shore  on  April  29th, 
three  sails  were  made  to  windward  under  con- 
voy of  a  large  brig-of-war,  which  edged  away 
for  the  American  ship,  covering  her  convoy, 
meanwhile.  The  two  vessels  were  soon  within 
range  and  a  close  action  commenced.  The 
enemy,  as  usual,  fired  high  and  the  Peacock  re- 
ceived two  thirty-two-pound  shot  in  the  quarter 
of  her  fore-yard  from  the  first  broadside  of  the 
enemy,  which  rendered  her  head  sails  nearly 
useless.  This  injury  compelled  the  Peacock  to 
fight  running  large  and  prevented  much  manoeu- 
vring on  her  part,  the  combat  being  decided 
eventually  entirely  by  gunnery,  which  was  so 
strikingly  effectual  that  at  the  end  of  forty-two 
minutes  the  enemy  struck.  The  prize  proved 
to  be  H.  B.  M.  brig  Epervier,  18,  Captain  Wales. 

She  was  very  badly  injured,  having  received 
forty-five  shots  in  her  hull,  and  she  had  twenty- 
two  killed  and  wounded.  Her  maintop-mast  was 
over  the  side,  her  main  boom  was  shot  away, 


156  The  American  Navy 

her  foremast  was  tottering,  her  bowsprit  badly 
wounded,  standing  rigging  much  cut,  and  she 
had  five  feet  of  water  in  her  hold.  The  Peacock 
received  very  little  injury,  that  done  to  her  fore- 
yard  excepted,  while  her  hull  escaped  entirely, 
not  a  round  shot  touching  it.  She  had  no  person 
killed  and  only  two  wounded.  In  one  hour  after 
the  retreat  from  quarters  was  beat  the  Peacock 
had  her  fore-yard  fished,  and  in  all  respects  was 
ready  again  to  engage  an  enemy. 

The  Epervier  struck  at  11  A.M.  and  by  sunset 
her  captors  had  her  in  condition  to  carry  sail. 
It  was  only  by  the  greatest  exertion,  however, 
that  she  was  at  first  kept  from  sinking.  She 
was  sent  home  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Nichol- 
son. On  our  coast  she  was  chased  by  a  British 
frigate  and  narrowly  escaped  capture,  but  at 
last  succeeded  in  running  into  Savannah, 
Georgia. 

CAPTURE    OF    THE    "  MACEDONIAN "    BY    THE    FRIGATE 

"  UNITED   STATES  " 

In  October,  1812,  Commodore  Stephen  De- 
catur  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  frigate  United 
States,  44,  and  on  the  25th  sighted  a  large  sail 
to  the  southward  and  eastward,  running  free. 
The  stranger,  having  come  within  a  league,  wore 
around  on  the  same  tack  with  the  United  States, 
and,  as  soon  as  she  was  within  range,  opened 
fire.  Finding  the  enemy  on  his  weather  quarter, 
Decatur  delivered  his  port  broadside,  wore 


Capture  of  the  "  Macedonian  "     157 

around  and  came  up  to  the  wind,  on  the  other 
tack,  heading  northerly.  Having  passed  her  an- 
tagonist, the  United  States  delivered  her  star- 
board broadside  and  wore  again,  bringing  her 
once  more  on  the  same  tack  as  her  adversary, 
both  ships,  meanwhile,  keeping  up  a  heavy 
cannonade. 

In  this  manner  the  action  continued  about  an 
hour,  the  English  ship  suffering  severely,  while 
she  inflicted  very  little  injury  on  her  antagonist. 
At  length  the  stranger's  mizzen-niast  came  down 
over  her  lee  quarter,  having  been  shot  away 
about  ten  feet  above  the  deck.  She  then  fell 
off  and  let  her  foresail  drop,  apparently  wish- 
ing to  close.  As  the  ships  came  together,  the 
shot  of  the  United  States  did  fearful  execution, 
the  foresail  soon  being  in  ribbands,  the  fore  and 
maintop-masts  over  the  side,  the  main  yards 
cut  away  in  the  slings,  and  the  foretop-mast 
tottering.  The  American  ship  now  filled  her 
sails,  gathered  fresh  way,  and  tacked,  and  as 
the  stranger  was  drifting  down,  nearly  before 
the  wind,  almost  unmanageable,  Decatur  had  no 
difficulty  in  crossing  her  wake,  while  his  crew 
still  kept  up  their  fire. 

As  the  United  States  filled  her  mizzentopsail 
in  preparation  for  stays,  it  is  said  the  enemy, 
under  the  impression  that  she  was  about  to  run 
away,  gave  three  cheers  and  set  a  union  jack 
in  the  main  rigging.  When,  however,  the  Ameri- 
can ship  was  seen  luffing  up  to  close,  the  jack 


158  The  American  Navy 

was  lowered.  As  the  United  States  crossed  the 
stern  of  the  English  ship,  the  firing  having 
ceased  on  both  sides,  Decatur  hailed  and  de- 
manded the  name  of  his  antagonist  and  whether 
she  had  surrendered.  He  was  answered  that  the 
ship  was  H.  B.  M.  Macedonian,  49,  Captain  John 
Surnam  Garden,  and  that  she  had  struck.  This 
was  just  ninety  minutes  after  the  commence- 
ment of  the  action. 

On  taking  possession,  the  ship  was  found  to 
be  fearfully  cut  to  pieces,  having  received  no 
less  than  one  hundred  round  shot  in  her  hull 
alone.  Of  the  three  hundred  men  on  board, 
thirty-six  were  killed  and  sixty-eight  wounded. 
The  United  States  lost  five  killed  and  seven 
wounded.  Her  rigging  was  a  good  deal  cut,  but 
she  was  hulled  a  very  few  times.  She  lost  one 
of  her  topgallant  masts  only. 

Decatur  secured  the  Macedonian's  fore-  and 
main-masts,  rigged  a  jury  mizzen-mast,  and  sent 
his  prize  into  Newport.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the 
United  States  at  New  London  on  December  4th, 
Decatur's  brilliant  service  was  acknowledged  by 
a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress  and  a  gold  medal, 
with  a  silver  medal  for  each  of  the  officers.  The 
State  of  Virginia  also  presented  swords  of  honor 
to  Decatur  and  to  his  officers. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  "  CHESAPEAKE  "  AND  THE  "  SHANNON  " 

THIS  ill-fated  action,  in  which  the  brave  Cap- 
tain Lawrence  was  to  lose  both  his  ship 
and  his  life,  was  practically  the  only  naval  duel 
in  the  War  of  1812  fought  between  fairly  equal 
combatants,  in  which  the  Americans  were  the 
losers.  James  Lawrence,  who  has  been  justly 
called  "  the  Bayard  of  the  Sea,"  was  born  in 
Burlington,  New  Jersey,  October  1,  1781.  He 
received  his  appointment  as  midshipman  in  1798, 
and  for  special  gallantry  was  made  acting  lieu- 
tenant two  years  later,  while  commanding  a 
gunboat,  as  second  in  command  to  Decatur,  in 
the  expedition  to  destroy  the  captured  frigate 
Philadelphia,  under  the  walls  of  Tripoli.  He 
received  his  lieutenant's  commission  in  1802;  in 
1808  he  was  first  lieutenant  of  the  Constitution., 
and  later  was  in  turn  in  command  of  the  Argus, 
Vixen,  and  Wasp  in  Commodore  Treble's  squad- 
ron. In  1811  he  was  promoted  to  captain  and 
placed  in  command  of  the  Hornet  and  in  her,  in 
February,  1813,  off  Demerara,  he  captured  the 
British  brig  Peacock,  20,  after  a  brief  but  bloody 
engagement  of  fourteen  minutes,  as  has  been 
already  related. 

159 


160  The  American  Navy 

The  Hornet  returned  to  Boston  after  this 
victory  and  in  recognition  of  it  the  Navy  De- 
partment ordered  him  to  the  command  of  the 
frigate  Chesapeake,  then  fitting  out  at  Boston. 

A  few  days  after  this  Captain  Philip  Bowes 
Vere  Broke  of  the  British  frigate  Shannon,  then 
cruising  in  the  offing,  sent  in  to  him  a  very 
courteous  challenge  to  engage  his  ship,  promis- 
ing a  fair  meeting  and  pointing  out  to  Lawrence 
that  he  could  not  otherwise  hope  to  get  to  sea 
in  the  presence  of  the  British  squadron.  In 
view  of  the  fact  that  Lawrence  had  sent  in  a 
similar  challenge  to  the  English  man-of-war 
Bonne  Citoyenne  at  San  Salvador,  Brazil,  he 
could  not  very  well  decline  Broke's  missive  al- 
though the  Chesapeake  was  in  no  sense  fit  to 
go  to  sea.  Most  of  her  old  crew,  their  time 
being  up,  had  left,  angry  at  not  having  received 
what  they  considered  as  their  due  share  of  prize- 
money.  It  was  very  hard  to  get  sailors,  most 
of  them  preferring  to  ship  in  privateers  where 
the  chances  of  earning  prize-money  was  very 
great.  In  consequence  of  this  an  unusually  large 
number  of  foreigners  were  shipped  for  the  Chesa- 
peake, including  forty  British  and  a  number  of 
Portuguese.  These  last  were  peculiarly  trouble- 
some, one  of  their  number,  a  boatswain's  mate, 
finally  almost  bringing  about  a  mutiny  among 
the  crew,  which  was  only  pacified  by  giving  the 
men  prize-checks.  At  the  last  moment,  a  few 
of  the  Constitution's  old  crew  came  aboard,  and 


JAMES    LAWRENCE 
From  an  engraviug  by  Leuey  of  the  portrait  by  Stuart 


"  Chesapeake  "  and  "  Shannon  "    161 

these,  with  some  of  the  Chesapeake's  old  crew, 
made  a  small  but  excellent  nucleus. 

Worst  of  all,  the  officers  wrere  largely  new  to 
the  ship,  though  the  first  lieutenant,  Mr.  A.  Lud- 
low,  had  been  the  third  in  her  former  cruise; 
the  third  and  fourth  lieutenants  were  merely 
midshipmen,  acting  for  the  first  time  in  higher 
positions.  Captain  Lawrence  himself  was,  of 
course,  new  to  his  ship,  his  officers,  and  his  men. 

By  contrast,  Captain  Broke  had  been  for 
seven  years  in  command  of  the  Shannon,,  and  in 
that  time  he  had,  by  constant  gunnery  practice, 
got  his  men  into  the  very  highest  state  of  effi- 
ciency. He  would  frequently  have  a  cask 
thrown  overboard  and  suddenly  order  some  one 
gun  to  be  manned  to  sink  the  cask.  In  short, 
the  Shannon  was  very  greatly  superior  in 
efficiency  to  the  average  British  frigate  of  her 
rate,  while  the  Chesapeake,  owing  to  her  hav- 
ing a  raw  and  inexperienced  crew,  was  very 
decidedly  inferior  to  the  average  American 
frigate  of  her  class.  The  Shannon  carried  fifty-two 
guns,  her  broadside  being  five  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  and  her  crew  numbered  three  hundred 
and  thirty  men.  The  Chesapeake  carried  fifty 
guns,  her  broadside  was  five  hundred  and  forty- 
two  pounds,  and  her  complement  was  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-nine  men. 

At  midday  of  June  1,  1812,  the  Chesapeake 
weighed  anchor,  stood  out  of  the  harbor,  and 
at  1  P.M.  passed  Boston  lighthouse.  The 


1 62  The  American  Navy 

Shannon  stood  off  under  easy  sail,  and  at  3.40 
hauled  up  and  reefed  topsails,  to  bring  her  into 
fighting  trim.  At  4  P.M.  she  again  bore  away 
with  her  foresail  brailed  up,  and  her  maintop- 
sail  braced  flat  and  shivering,  that  the  Chesa- 
peake might  overtake  her.  An  hour  later  she 
again  hauled  and  lay  to  under  topsail,  topgallant- 
sails,  jib,  and  spanker.  Meanwhile,  the  breeze 
having  freshened,  the  Chesapeake  had  taken  in 
her  light  sails  and  came  down  very  fast,  as  if 
eager  for  the  fray,  under  fighting  canvas,  top- 
sails, and  jib.  The  Shannon's  maintopsail  was 
filled  at  5.30,  to  keep  the  ship  under  control,  and 
the  Chesapeake,  hauling  up  her  foresail,  gallantly 
steered  straight  for  the  Shannon's  starboard 
quarter.  As  the  English  ship  was  running  with 
the  wind  a  little  free,  there  was  an  anxious 
moment  on  board  of  her,  during  which  it  was 
uncertain  on  which  side  the  Chesapeake  was 
about  to  close.  Broke  was  afraid  that  Law- 
rence would  pass  under  the  Shannon's  stern, 
rake  her,  and  engage  her  on  the  quarter, 
which  seemed  the  probable  manoeuvre  under  the 
circumstances,  but  either  overlooking  or  chival- 
rously waiving  the  advantage  presented,  Law- 
rence luffed  up  within  fifty  yards  upon  the 
Shannon's  quarter,  and  laid  his  enemy  fairly 
alongside,  yard-arm  and  yard-arm.  At  5.30  the 
first  gun  was  fired  from  the  British  ship  the 
Chesapeake  replying  with  her  whole  broadside, 
which  was  very  destructive.  At  5.53  Lawrence, 


"  Chesapeake  "  and  "  Shannon  "  163 

finding  his  ship  was  forging  ahead  of  the 
enemy,  hauled  up  a  little.  The  Chesapeake' s 
broadsides  were  doing  great  damage  to  her 
enemy,  but  she  was  suffering  even  more  than 
her  foe.  The  men  in  the  Shannon's  tops  could 
hardly  see  the  deck  of  the  American  ship 
through  the  cloud  of  splinters,  hammocks,  and 
other  debris  that  was  flying  across  it.  Man 
after  man  was  killed  at  the  wheel:  the  fourth 
lieutenant,  the  master,  and  the  boatswain  were 
slain,  and  at  5.56,  having  had  her  jib-sheet  and 
foretopsail  tie  shot  away  and  her  spanker  brails 
loosened  so  that  the  sail  blew  out,  the  Chesa- 
peake came  up  into  the  wind,  exposing  her 
quarter  to  a  raking  fire  from  her  antagonist's 
broadside,  which  beat  in  her  stern-ports  and 
swept  all  the  men  from  the  after  guns.  One 
of  the  arm-chests  on  the  quarter-deck  was 
blown  up  by  a  hand  grenade  thrown  from  the 
Shannon,  which  spread  a  fire  accompanied  by 
a  thick  smoke,  causing  much  confusion  on  the 
upper  deck. 

The  Chesapeake  now  got  sternway  and  was 
slowly  paying  off  when  the  two  frigates  fell 
aboard,  the  Chesapeake's  quarter  pressing  upon 
the  Shannon's  side  just  forward  of  the  starboard 
main-chains,  and  the  vessels  were  kept  in  that 
position  by  the  fluke  of  the  Shannon's  anchor 
catching  in  the  Chesapeake's  quarter-port. 

When  Captain  Lawrence  perceived  that  the 
ships  were  likely  to  fall  foul  of  each  other,  he 


1 64  The  American  Navy 

directed  the  boarders  to  be  called,  but  unfortu- 
nately the  bugler,  who  had  been  substituted  for 
the  drummer,  was  a  negro,  and  he  had  become 
so  much  alarmed  at  the  effect  of  the  conflict 
that  he  had  concealed  himself  under  the  stern 
of  the  launch;  when  found  he  was  completely 
paralyzed  by  fear,  and  was  totally  unable  to 
sound  a  note.  Verbal  orders  were  accordingly 
sent  below  for  the  boarders  to  come  on  deck. 
At  this  critical  moment  Captain  Broke  ran 
forward  and  ordered  the  ships  to  be  lashed  to- 
gether, the  great  guns  to  cease  firing,  and  the 
boarders  to  be  called  away.  The  Shannon's 
boatswain,  one  of  Rodney's  veterans,  sprang  into 
the  chains  and  at  once  set  about  securing  the 
vessels,  which  he  succeeded  in  doing,  although 
his  right  arm  was  well-nigh  hacked  off  by  an 
American  seaman  with  a  cutlass  before  he  had 
accomplished  his  task. 

Meanwhile,  all  was  confusion  on  board  the 
Chesapeake;  Lawrence,  conspicuous  by  his  sta- 
ture and  his  uniform,  had  been  shot  through  the 
body,  as  the  ships  closed,  by  Lieutenant  Law  of 
the  British  marines.  He  fell  dying  and  was 
carried  below,  exclaiming,  "  Don't  give  up  the 
ship ! "  Lieutenant  Ludlow  had  been  mortally 
wounded.  At  this  juncture  the  third  lieutenant, 
W.  S.  Cox,  came  on  deck  from  the  main  bat- 
tery, but,  utterly  demoralized  by  the  conditions 
that  confronted  him,  he  basely  ran  below  with- 
out  attempting  to  rally  the  disheartened  men, 


LIEUTENANT  AUGUSTUS    LUDLOW 


"  Chesapeake  "  and  "Shannon"  165 

and  was  court-martialed  afterward  for  his 
cowardice. 

Captain  Broke  stepped  from  the  gangway  rail 
of  his  ship  to  the  muzzle  of  the  Chesapeake's 
aftermost  carronade,  followed  by  about  twenty 
of  his  men.  As  they  came  aboard,  the  Chesa- 
peake's crew  deserted  their  quarters  and,  led 
by  the  cowardly  Portuguese  boatswain's  mate, 
ran  below.  Among  these  cravens  was  Midship- 
man Deforest.  The  only  resistance  offered  to 
the  boarders  on  the  quarter-deck  was  made  by 
the  chaplain,  Mr.  Livermore,  who  advanced  firing 
his  pistol  at  Broke.  The  English  captain  at 
once  returned  the  compliment  by  a  stroke  from 
his  sword  that  nearly  hewed  off  the  arm  of  the 
chaplain  militant.  The  marines,  who  were  sta- 
tioned on  the  spar  deck,  true  to  the  traditions 
of  their  corps,  behaved  well.  Of  the  forty-four 
men,  fourteen  had  been  killed,  including  Lieu- 
tenant James  Brown  and  Corporal  Dixon,  and 
twenty,  including  the  two  sergeants,  Irvin  and 
Harris,  were  wounded,  so  that  there  were  left 
unwounded  of  the  marine  guard  but  one  cor- 
poral and  nine  men,  although,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  several  of  these  had  been  knocked  down 
and  bruised  in  the  melee. 

The  English  boarders,  therefore,  found  at  first 
little  resistance  except  from  the  fire  of  the  Chesa- 
peake's mizzentopmen,  who  mortally  wounded 
Mr.  Samwell  and  killed  Lieutenant  Watt,  until 
they  were  driven  from  the  place  by  one  of  the 


1 66  The  American  Navy 

Shannon's  long  nines,  that  was  trained  upon 
the  top.  At  the  same  time  the  men  in  the  Chesa- 
peake's  maintop  were  driven  out  of  it  by  the 
fire  of  the  Shannon's  foretopmen.  Lieutenant 
George  Budd,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  main- 
deck  battery,  now  for  the  first  time  learned 
that  the  enemy  had  boarded,  as  the  spar-deck 
men  came  crowding  below,  and  he  at  once  called 
upon  his  people  to  follow  him,  but  the  foreigners 
held  back  and  only  a  few  veterans  followed  him 
up.  As  soon  as  Budd  reached  the  upper  deck, 
although  but  a  dozen  men  were  with  him,  the 
gallant  fellow  attacked  the  enemy  as  they  came 
from  the  quarter-deck  along  the  gangway,  repuls- 
ing them  for  a  moment  and  killing  the  British 
purser,  Aldham,  and  captain's  clerk  Dunn;  but 
the  Americans  were  overwhelmingly  outnum- 
bered and  were  soon  dispersed,  Lieutenant  Budd 
being  wounded  and  knocked  down  the  main 
hatchway.  Lieutenant  Ludlow,  already  mor- 
tally wounded,  struggled  up  on  deck,  followed 
by  two  or  three  men,  but  he  was  at  once  dis- 
abled by  a  sabre  cut.  On  the  forecastle  a  few 
seamen  and  marines  turned  to  bay,  in  an  en- 
deavor to  retrieve  the  fortunes  of  the  day.  Cap- 
tain Broke,  still  leading  his  men  with  brilliant 
personal  courage,  attacked  the  first  American, 
who  was  armed  with  a  pike,  parried  the  blow 
from  it,  and  cut  down  the  man.  Attacking  an- 
other he  was  himself  cut  down  and  was  only 
saved  by  a  seaman,  who  slew  his  assailant.  One 


"Chesapeake"  and  " Shannon"  167 

of  the  half  dozen  marines  in  the  group  of  Ameri- 
cans using  his  clubbed  musket  killed  one  of  the 
Englishmen,  and  so  stubborn  was  the  resistance 
of  this  little  body  of  men,  that  for  a  moment 
the  assailants  gave  back,  having  lost  several 
killed  and  wounded,  but,  quickly  rallying  in 
response  to  Broke's  renewed  onslaught,  the 
boarders  closed  in  on  their  doomed  enemies  and 
slew  them  to  the  last  man.  A  few  straggling 
shots  were  fired  up  from  below,  but  a  well- 
directed  volley  down  the  hatchway  soon  silenced 
this  attempt  and  resistance  was  at  an  end.  At 
6.05,  just  fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  gun  had 
been  fired,  and  but  five  minutes  after  Captain 
Broke  came  on  board,  the  Chesapeake' s  colors 
were  struck. 

Of  the  Chesapeake' s  crew  of  three  hundred  and 
seventy-nine  men,  sixty-one  were  killed  or  mor- 
tally wounded,  including  her  captain,  the  first 
and  fourth  lieutenants,  the  lieutenant  of  marines, 
the  master,  boatswain,  and  three  midshipmen. 
Eighty-five  were  severely  and  slightly  wounded, 
including  both  the  other  lieutenants,  five  mid- 
shipmen and  the  chaplain;  total,  one  hundred 
and  forty-eight,  the  loss  falling  almost  entirely 
upon  the  American  portion  of  the  crew. 

The  Shannon's  loss  was  thirty-three  killed  or 
died  of  their  wounds,  including  her  first  lieu- 
tenant, purser,  captain's  clerk,  and  one  midship- 
man, and  fifty  wounded,  including  the  captain 
and  boatswain ;  total,  eighty-three. 


1 68  The  American  Navy 

The  Chesapeake  was  taken  the  next  day  into 
Halifax,  where  Captain  Lawrence  and  Lieu- 
tenant Ludlow  were  both  buried  with  military 
honors.  Subsequently  the  remains  of  both 
officers  were  restored  to  the  United  States 
and  received  with  public  honors  at  Salem. 
Judge  Story  delivered  an  oration  there  and  they 
were  buried  in  state  in  Trinity  Churchyard, 
New  York  City,  where  there  is  a  monument  to 
Lawrence's  memory.  Captain  Broke  was  made 
a  baronet  and  Lieutenants  Wallis  and  Falkiner 
were  both  promoted  to  commanders. 

Roosevelt,  in  his  Naval  War  of  1812,  in  com- 
menting upon  this  action  very  justly  says : 

Accident  had  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  the 
gaining  of  this  victory.  The  explanation  of  it  is 
perfectly  easy;  Lawrence  and  Broke  were  probably 
exactly  equal  in  almost  everything  that  goes  to 
make  up  a  first-class  commander,  but  one  had 
trained  his  crew  for  seven  years,  and  the  other  was 
new  to  the  ship,  to  the  officers,  and  to  the  men,  and 
the  last  to  each  other.  The  Chesapeake' 's  crew  must 
have  been  of  fine  material,  or  they  would  not  have 
fought  so  well  as  they  did. 

Captain  James  Lawrence  was  a  man  of  noble 
stature  and  fine  personal  appearance,  he  was 
chivalrous,  generous,  and  just,  a  superb  sailor, 
much  beloved  by  his  friends,  but  quick  and  im- 
petuous in  his  feelings  and  sometimes  manifested 
his  anger  on  the  quarter-deck,  but  in  all  critical 


s  I 

£  a 

<  a 

5  a 

u  » 

i  £ 

»  £ 


"  Chesapeake  "  and  "Shannon"  169 

situations  his  coolness  was  remarkable.  His 
humanity  and  kindness  of  heart  were  as  con- 
spicuous as  his  courage.  His  deportment  dur- 
ing the  battle  in  which  he  fell  was  noble  and 
inspiring  and  the  loss  of  his  ship  may  be 
largely  imputed  to  his  death.  His  dying  words, 
"  Don't  give  up  the  ship ! "  have  passed  into  a 
nautical  rallying  cry  and  were  emblazoned  on 
Perry's  signal  flag  two  months  later  at  Lake 
Erie,  when  the  Lawrence  led  the  American  fleet 
to  victory. 


CHAPTER  XI 


IN  the  naval  history  of  the  United  States  a 
special  halo  of  romance  has  been  thrown 
upon  the  name  of  Captain  Oliver  Hazard  Perry, 
the  youthful  hero  of  the  Battle  of  Lake  Erie. 
Oliver  came  of  excellent  fighting  stock,  his 
father,  Captain  Christopher  Raymond  Perry, 
having  commanded  in  1798  the  Revolutionary 
cruiser  General  Greene.  Earlier  in  his  life,  he  was 
captured  in  a  privateer  and  held  as  a  prisoner 
at  Newry,  Ireland,  where  he  met  and  wooed  his 
first  wife,  Sarah  Alexander.  She  was  a  woman 
of  uncommonly  strong  character,  of  high  intel- 
lectual power  and  rare  social  grace,  training 
her  children  with  extraordinary  care  to  higli 
ideals  of  life  and  duty.  After  the  fight  on  Lake 
Erie,  some  of  her  neighbors  declared  that  it  was 
in  reality  "  Mrs.  Perry's  victory."  Of  her  five 
sons,  Oliver  Hazard,  Raymond  H.  J.,  Matthew 
Galbraith,  James  Alexander,  and  Nathaniel 
Hazard,  all  were  officers  in  the  navy,  and  of 
her  three  daughters,  two  married  officers  of  the 
navy. 

Oliver,  born  August  23,  1785,  was  carefully 
trained  by  his  mother,  who  fitted  him  to  com- 

170 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie          171 

mand  others  by  teaching  him  early  to  obey,  and 
inspired  him  to  action  by  reciting  to  him  the 
deeds  of  her  military  ancestors,  her  grandfather 
having  been  an  officer  in  the  Scotch  army  and 
a  signer  of  the  "  Solemn  League  and  Covenant " 
of  1660.  Young  Oliver  received  his  appointment 
as  midshipman  in  1799  and  made  several  cruises 
in  his  father's  ship  in  the  West  Indies,  and  was 
in  her  when  she  participated  in  the  reduction 
of  Jacmel  under  Commodore  Talbot.  Subse- 
quently he  served  under  Preble  in  the  Tripolitan 
War,  and  as  acting  lieutenant  commanded  the 
Nautilus  in  1804,  and  served  as  commander  of 
a  fleet  of  seventeen  gunboats  off  Newport 
harbor  during  the  embargo  of  1810.  In  1811, 
while  master-in-command  of  the  schooner  Re- 
venge, he  wras  wrecked  on  the  rocks  off  Watch 
Hill,  Rhode  Island.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  with  Great  Britain,  Perry  was  appointed 
master-commandant  and  resumed  the  command 
of  the  gunboats  off  Newport.  Later,  failing 
to  obtain  the  command  of  either  the  Hornet 
or  the  Argus,  he  applied  to  be  transferred  to 
Sackett's  Harbor,  under  Commodore  Chauncey. 

On  February  17,  1813,  Perry  was  ordered  to 
take  such  officers  and  men  from  his  gunboat 
flotilla  as  were  suitable  and  report  to  Captain 
Chauncey.  With  the  promptness  that  was  so 
marked  a  characteristic  of  this  young  officer, 
within  four  days  after  receiving  these  orders 
he  had  selected  and  despatched,  in  three  de- 


172  The  American  Navy 

tachments,  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  under 
Masters  Thomas  C.  Almy,  Stephen  Champlin, 
and  William  Vigneron  Taylor,  for  Lake 
Ontario. 

In  these  modern  days,  when  detachments  of 
soldiers  and  sailors  are  sent  flying  across  the 
continent  in  luxurious  trains  of  steam-cars,  it 
is  difficult  to  realize  what  it  meant  for  that 
little  body  of  sailors  to  force  their  way  in  winter 
through  the  untracked  wilderness  that  lay  be- 
tween the  shores  of  Long  Island  Sound  and  Lake 
Ontario.  Their  progress  was  slow  and  weary, 
and  often  perilous,  and  it  was  a  full  month 
before  Perry  and  his  little  band  arrived  at  their 
destination,  after  a  journey  on  foot,  in  sleighs, 
and  at  times  in  canoes  down  Oswego  River  to 
its  mouth,  where  they  took  boats  for  Sackett's 
Harbor. 

On  March  16th  Perry  left  Sackett's  Harbor 
for  Presque  Isle,  now  called  Erie,  where  he  was 
assigned  by  Chauncey  the  task  of  equipping  a 
fleet  for  the  protection  of  Lake  Erie.  Arriving 
at  Erie,  March  27th,  he  found  that  two  brigs, 
the  Niagara  and  Lawrence,  were  nearly  com- 
pleted. They  were  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine  feet  long,  with  twenty-nine  feet  beam,  of 
five  hundred  tons  burden,  constructed  of  white 
and  black  oak,  with  chestnut  frames  and  oak 
sheathing.  Two  gunboats  were  also  nearly 
planked,  and  the  schooner  Scorpion  was  just 
begun.  But,  although  the  hulls  of  his  ships 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie          173 

were  well  forward,  neither  sails,  rigging,  guns, 
nor  ammunition  had  yet  been  provided  for  them. 
So  our  young  commander  was  compelled  to  make 
another  weary  journey  in  person  to  Pittsburg 
for  these  supplies,  which,  after  tiresome  delays, 
he  at  last  obtained. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  Perry  joined  Captain 
Chauncey  on  Lake  Ontario  for  the  attack  on 
Fort  George,  and  was  assigned  to  command  the 
boats  in  the  difficult  task  of  debarking  the 
troops,  under  Colonel  Winfleld  Scott,  that  co- 
operated in  the  movement,  which  finally  resulted 
in  the  evacuation  of  that  stronghold  by  the 
British  on  May  27th. 

One  result  for  the  American  army  of  this  suc- 
cess was  the  subsequent  evacuation  of  Fort  Erie 
by  the  British,  which  left  the  Niagara  River 
open,  and  Captain  Perry  thus  succeeded  in  get- 
ting the  captured  brig  Caledonia,  the  purchased 
schooners  Somers,  Tigress,  and  Ohio,  and  the 
sloop  Trippe  unopposed  out  of  the  Niagara 
River,  where  they  had  been  heretofore  block- 
aded by  the  enemy.  In  accomplishing  this  work 
Perry  tracked  the  vessels  with  several  yokes  of 
oxen  up  the  stream  to  Erie,  against  the  swift 
current,  and,  after  infinite  labor,  brought  them 
safely  out  into  the  harbor.  He  found,  however, 
that  there  was  less  than  seven  feet  of  water  on 
the  bar,  and  another  important  obstacle  to  his 
farther  progress  was  the  presence  of  Captain 
Robert  Heriot  Barclay's  fleet  at  the  entrance  of 


174  The  American  Navy 

the  lake  where  that  British  officer  was  main- 
taining a  very  strict  blockade.  Captain  Barclay 
was  an  old  and  skilful  seaman  of  approved  cour- 
age, who  had  served  under  Nelson  at  Trafalgar, 
where  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  he  had  lost 
an  arm  in  another  engagement  with  the  French. 
Lieutenant  Buchan,  who  commanded  the  Lady 
Prevost,  had  also  served  with  distinction  under 
Nelson.  It  was  therefore  against  these  proved, 
veteran  commanders  that  our  young  captain  was 
to  try  conclusions. 

Captain  Barclay  kept  himself  well  informed, 
through  spies,  of  the  preparations  being  made 
by  Perry;  and,  on  August  2d,  as  the  Americans 
did  not  seem  yet  ready  to  move,  the  English 
captain,  relaxing  his  vigilance  for  the  moment, 
sailed  across  to  the  Canadian  side  of  the  lake. 
It  was  afterward  said  that  he  had  gone  to  accept 
an  invitation  to  a  public  dinner. 

Perry  promptly  grasped  the  opportunity  thus 
presented  and  at  once  proceeded  to  get  the  Law- 
rence over  the  bar.  Her  guns  were  hoisted  out 
and  landed,  as  well  as  all  other  heavy  material, 
two  large  scows  were  brought  alongside,  filled 
with  water  to  bring  them  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  heavy  timbers  were  then  run  through 
the  brig's  ports  and  blocked  up  from  the  scows. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth  of  August  the 
water  was  pumped  from  the  scows,  the  brig  was 
lifted  two  feet,  and  was  thus  floated  down  to  the 
bar.  To  the  great  disappointment  of  Perry, 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie          175 

however,  it  was  found  that  the  Lawrence  was  still 
too  deep,  and  it  became  necessary  to  repeat  this 
operation  before  she  would  pass  over  the  bar. 
This  work  occupied  the  entire  night,  and,  just 
as  the  Lawrence  passed  over  the  bar,  next  morn- 
ing, Barclay's  vessel  appeared  in  sight.  The 
Englishman  exchanged  a  few  shots  with  the 
schooners  which  were  covering  the,  as  yet,  un- 
armed Lawrence,  but,  fortunately  for  the  Ameri- 
cans, Barclay  decided  for  unknown  reasons  not  to 
bring  on  an  engagement  at  that  time  and  hauled 
off.  The  Niagara  passed  over  the  bar  readily,  and 
Perry  proceeded  to  get  his  little  squadron  ready 
for  immediate  service.  His  most  pressing  need 
was  men,  as  he  had  only  sailors  enough  for  one 
ship.  In  an  urgent  letter  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  the  young  captain  says :  "  Give  me 
men,  sir,  and  I  will  acquire  both  for  you  and 
myself  honor  and  glory  on  this  lake  or  perish 
in  the  attempt."  To  Commodore  Chauncey  he 
writes,  pleading :  "  For  God's  sake  and  your  own 
and  mine,  send  me  men  and  officers  and  I  will 
have  the  enemy  in  a  day  or  two."  But  in  response 
to  this  appeal  only  a  few  men,  and  those  of  an 
indifferent  kind,  were  sent  to  him,  and,  hear- 
ing that  the  enemy  proposed  to  send  an  expedi- 
tion against  him  to  burn  his  ships,  Perry  at 
once  threw  up  hasty  breastworks  to  protect  his 
vessels  against  an  attack  by  land.  By  the  end 
of  July,  Perry  mustered  three  hundred  men  to 
man  his  ten  vessels,  a  large  number  of  whom 


1 76  The  American  Navy 

had  been  seriously  affected  by  the  weather  and 
by  the  drinking  water,  which  had  produced 
diarrhoea.  This  paltry  force  was  increased  to 
four  hundred  and  ninety,  mainly  by  a  reinforce- 
ment from  General  Harrison  of  one  hundred 
Kentuckians,  of  whom  three-quarters  were  green 
hands,  soldiers,  and  negroes.  And  with  this 
force,  on  September  10th,  he  won  his  glorious 
victory. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  Perry  sailed  on  a 
cruise  to  break  his  men  in  to  their  duties,  and, 
sending  the  Ohio  down  the  lake,  the  other 
vessels  went  in  to  Put-in-Bay. 

At  daylight  on  September  10,  1813,  the  British 
fleet  was  sighted  to  the  northwestward,  and  the 
American  fleet  at  once  got  under  way,  some- 
times towing  with  boats,  as  the  wind  was  light 
and  baffling.  Perry  hoisted  at  the  peak  of  the 
Lawrence  a  large  motto  flag,  bearing  the  dying 
words  of  the  gallant  commander  of  the  Chesa- 
peake, "  Don't  give  up  the  ship !  "  Barclay's  fleet 
was  in  close  column,  heading  southwest,  in  the 
following  order:  Chippeway,  1;  Detroit,  19, 
Captain  Barclay;  Hunter,  10;  Queen  Charlotte, 
17 ;  Lady  Prevost,  13 ;  and  Little  Belt,  3. 

Finding  it  difficult  to  weather  Bass  Islands, 
Perry  determined  to  wear  and  run  to  leeward 
of  them.  His  sailing-master  suggested  that  this 
would  cause  them  to  engage  the  enemy  to  lee- 
ward. "  I  don't  care,"  replied  Perry,  with 
determination,  "  to  windward  or  to  leeward, 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie  177 

whichever  it  be,  they  shall  fight  to-day !  "  But  as 
he  spoke  the  wind  shifted  and  the  American  fleet 
fortunately  fetched  to  windward  of  the  islands 
and  retained  the  weather-gage.  The  American 
ships  came  down  with  the  wind  on  the  port 
beam  in  column  ahead  obliquely:  The  Ariel  4, 
Lieutenant  John  EL  Packet;  and  Scorpion,  2, 
Master  Stephen  Champlin,  leading,  both  on  the 
weather-bow  of  the  Lawrence,  20,  Captain  O.  H. 
Perry;  next  the  Caledonia,  3,  Lieutenant  Daniel 
Turner;  Niagara,  20,  Captain  Jesse  D.  Elliott; 
Somers,  2,  Lieutenant  A.  H.  M.  Conklin;  Por- 
cupine, 1,  Acting-Master  George  Serrat;  Tigress, 
1,  Master  Thomas  C.  Almy;  and  Trippe,  1,  Lieu- 
tenant Thomas  Holdup. 

As  it  wTas  close  to  the  dinner  hour,  the  noon- 
day grog  was  served  to  the  men  with  biscuit, 
and  after  that  was  consumed  every  one  went  to 
quarters,  and  Perry  passed  through  the  ship, 
inspecting  every  gun  and  speaking  a  word  of 
encouragement  to  the  men.  Seeing  some  of  the 
Constitution's  crew  with  whom  he  had  served 
he  said,  "  Well,  boys,  are  you  ready?  "  They 
touched  their  hats  and  answered,  after  the  fash- 
ion of  the  day,  "  All  ready,  your  honor !  "  As 
he  came  to  the  men  from  his  former  Newport 
flotilla,  many  of  them  the  sons  of  his  old  neigh- 
bors, he  said:  "  I  need  not  say  anything  to  you. 
You  know  how  to  beat  those  fellows."  Perry 
then  retired  to  his  cabin,  and,  after  destroying 
his  private  papers,  wrapped  his  public  documents 


1 78  The  American  Navy 

in  lead  ready  to  be  thrown  overboard  in  the  event 
of  capture. 

Barclay  expected  an  easy  victory,  and,  as  his 
ships  bore  down  on  the  American  fleet  at  eleven 
o'clock,  the  bugle  sounded  from  the  Detroit, 
and  the  whole  line  gave  three  sturdy  British 
cheers.  The  ships  had  been  lately  painted,  their 
rigging  was  freshly  tarred  down,  and  they  pre- 
sented a  very  fine  appearance,  with  ensigns  and 
pennants  flying  from  peaks  and  mastheads. 

The  Detroit  opened  the  action  with  a  shot 
from  her  long  twenty-four-pounder  to  try  the 
range,  which  fell  short,  but  the  second  struck 
and  passed  through  the  Lawrence,  as  the  Scor- 
pion responded  with  her  long  thirty-two.  At 
11.55  the  Lawrence  opened  with  her  long 
twelves;  at  12  M.  she  began  to  fire  her  carro- 
nades,  but  their  shot  fell  short.  By  this  time 
the  action  became  general,  although,  as  the  wind 
was  so  light,  the  sternmost  of  the  American 
vessels  wrere  not  within  range.  As  the  Law- 
rence closed  very  slowly  she  suffered  severely 
before  her  short  broadside  guns  came  into  range, 
as  she  was  receiving  the  concentrated  fire  of 
the  thirty  long  guns  of  the  Chippeway,  Detroit, 
and  Hunter,  and  every  brace  and  bowline  was 
shot  away.  Meanwhile,  the  Caledonia,  Niagara, 
and  Somers  were  engaged  at  long  range  with 
the  Hunter  and  Queen  Charlotte,  while  the 
smaller  American  vessels  were  engaging  the 
Prevost  and  Little  Belt  far  astern.  By  12.20 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie  179 

the  Lawrence,  with  the  Scorpion  and  Ariel,  came 
to  close  quarters,  with  the  Detroit  and  Chippe- 
way  at  canister  range,  and  about  this  time  the 
Ariel's  long  twelve  burst,  while  one  of  the 
Scorpion's  carronades,  in  consequence  of  over- 
loading, was  upset  down  the  hatchway.  Fortu- 
nately, the  Caledonia  drew  into  the  fight  with 
the  Hunter,  but  the  Niagara,  well  at  a  distance, 
was  almost  entirely  uninjured. 

For  fully  one  hour  Perry  fought  three  ships, 
receiving  the  concentrated  fire  of  the  Detroit, 
Hunter,  and  Lady  Prevost,  while  he  was  prac- 
tically unsupported.  One  by  one  the  guns  of 
the  Lawrence  were  dismounted,  her  spars  were 
shattered,  and  her  sails  were  hanging  in  shreds 
and  tatters,  while  out  of  a  complement  of  one 
hundred  and  three  men,  eighty-three  had  been 
killed  and  wounded.  The  first  lieutenant,  John 
J.  Yarnall,  came  to  Perry  with  his  face  covered 
with  blood  and  said :  "  All  the  officers  of  my 
division  are  disabled.  Can  I  have  others? " 
Perry  sent  his  personal  aids,  but  in  a  few  min- 
utes Yarnall  returned,  saying :  "  Those  officers 
have  been  cut  down;  I  need  more."  Perry  re- 
plied :  "  I  have  no  more  to  give  you.  You  must 
endeavor  to  make  out  by  yourself."  "  All  right, 
sir,"  was  the  cheerful  response,  as  the  lieutenant 
returned  to  his  division.  Three  times  this  gal- 
lant officer  was  wounded  and  taken  to  the  cock- 
pit, but  each  time  he  returned  to  his  post  after 
his  wounds  were  dressed. 


i8o  The  American  Navy 

Perry  had  several  very  narrow  escapes.  One  of 
the  after-guns  seemed  to  be  disabled,  and  Perry 
advanced  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The  captain 
of  the  gun,  one  of  the  Constitution's  crew,  said, 
"  I  can  fire  it?  sir,"  and  was  just  about  to  do 
so  when  a  twenty-four-pound  shot  passed  through 
his  body  and  he  fell  at  Perry's  feet.  Lieutenant 
John  Brooks,  in  command  of  the  marines, 
was  speaking  to  Perry  when  he  was  struck 
in  the  thigh  by  a  cannon-ball,  which  carried 
him  across  the  deck.  Shrieking  with  pain, 
he  implored  Perry  to  shoot  him  and  end  his 
agony. 

In  the  cockpit  of  the  Lawrence,  which  was 
above  the  water-line,  the  carnage  was  fearful, 
several  men  being  struck  by  shot  while  they 
were  undergoing  operations.  Midshipman  Henry 
Lamb,  after  having  his  shattered  arm  dressed, 
was  struck  in  the  side  by  a  twenty-four-pound 
shot  and  instantly  killed,  while  an  Indian  sailor 
was  killed  in  the  same  manner.  Yet,  when 
Perry  called  down  to  know  if  any  of  the 
wounded  could  pull  a  rope,  several  of  the  gal- 
lant fellows  crawled  up  on  deck  to  do  what 
they  could. 

By  half-past  two,  with  the  aid  of  Chaplain 
Breeze  and  Purser  Hambleton,  Perry  had  fired 
the  last  gun  that  was  left  mounted  on  the  deck 
of  the  Lawrence,  and  it  was  evident  to  him  that 
the  Niagara  must  be  brought  up  to  save  the 
day.  He  therefore  gave  orders  to  Lieutenant 


OLIVER    H.    PERRY 

From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J.  W.  Jarvis 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie  181 

Yarnall  to  hold  out  to  the  last,  and,  manning 
his  boat  with  his  brother  James  and  four  sea- 
men, he  was  shoving  off  from  the  Lawrence, 
when  Hosea  Sargeant  hauled  down  the  blue  flag 
with  the  motto,  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship !  "  and 
tossed  it  to  Perry  in  the  stern-sheets  of  the 
cutter. 

For  a  time  the  battle  smoke  concealed  this 
movement  from  the  sight  of  the  enemy,  but  at  last 
they  opened  upon  the  boat,  one  shot  striking  her, 
but  fortunately  not  inflicting  serious  damage, 
and  Perry  reached  the  Niagara  and,  climbing 
up  her  side,  assumed  command  of  the  ship, 
hoisting  his  broad  pennant  and  the  signal 
flag  bearing  Lawrence's  dying  words  at  the 
masthead. 

As  he  came  over  the  side,  Captain  Elliott 
met  Perry  and  asked  how  the  day  was  going. 
"  Badly,"  was  the  reply.  He  had  lost  nearly 
all  his  men  and  the  Lawrence  wras  a  wreck. 
Elliott  then  asked  what  the  gunboats  were  do- 
ing so  far  astern,  and  he  offered  to  bring  them 
up.  Perry  consented  and  Elliott  left  in  the 
Lawrence's  boat  on  that  mission.  Perry  at  once 
backed  the  Niagara's  maintop-sail,  hauled  up  the 
main-trysail  and,  putting  the  helm  up,  squared 
the  yards  and  bore  straight  down  with  the  fresh- 
ening breeze  for  the  enemy,  setting  his  topgallant- 
sails,  and  making  signal  for  close  action.  This 
bold  manoeuvre  was  received  with  hearty  cheers 
by  the  American  fleet,  which  seemed  to  be  at 


1 82  The  American  Navy 

once  inspired  with  renewed  life  for  the  second 
stage  of  the  conflict. 

As  Perry  bore  down  on  them,  the  Detroit  made 
an  effort  to  wear  to  bring  her  starboard  battery 
to  bear,  as  seven  of  her  port  guns  had  been 
disabled  by  the  fire  from  the  Lawrence.  In  do- 
ing this  she  fouled  the  Queen  Charlotte,  and  the 
two  British  ships  lay  together,  head  and  stern, 
as  the  Niagara,  breaking  the  enemy's  line,  backed 
her  maintop-sail  and  passed  slowly  under  the 
bows  of  the  Detroit,  pouring  a  deadly  raking 
fire  of  grape  and  canister  into  both  vessels  with 
her  starboard  battery.  At  the  same  time  she 
was  raking  the  sterns  of  the  Lady  Prevost  and 
Little  Belt  with  her  port  battery,  while  the 
Kentucky  riflemen  in  the  tops  were  busily  pick- 
ing off  every  enemy  visible  on  their  decks. 

In  obedience  to  Perry's  signal,  the  Caledonia 
followed  the  Niagara,  pouring  in  her  broadside; 
while  the  Ariel,  the  Somers,  now  commanded  by 
Elliott,  and  the  Scorpion,  Tigress,  and  Porcupine 
came  down  with  the  breeze  and  tackled  the  other 
British  vessels  with  furious  onslaught. 

At  2.30,  when  Perry  shifted  his  flag  from  the 
Lawrence,  the  British  believed  the  victory  was 
theirs,  and  loud  cheers  resounded  through  their 
fleet  as  the  American  broad  pennant  came  down 
from  the  disabled  flagship.  Thirty  minutes 
later,  at  3  P.M.,  an  officer  appeared  on  the  taff- 
rail  of  the  Hunter,  waving  a  white  handkerchief 
on  a  boarding-pike  as  a  token  of  surrender,  and 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie  183 

Perry  had  thus  snatched  victory  from  defeat, 
and,  for  the  first  time  in  her  long  and  brilliant 
naval  history,  an  entire  British  fleet  surrendered 
at  discretion. 

At  this  signal  the  fire  of  our  vessels  ceased, 
and  Perry,  again  changing  his  flag,  took  his 
boat  and  returned  to  the  Lawrence  that  he  might 
receive  the  surrender  of  the  British  fleet  upon 
her  battle-scarred  decks. 

As  Perry  reached  his  ship  the  heroic  survivors 
of  her  crew  who  could  walk  greeted  their  com- 
mander in  dignified  silence,  but  with  deep  emotion. 
Few  were  unwounded,  all  were  battle-stained, 
and  the  decks  were  slippery  with  blood,  like  the 
floor  of  a  slaughter-house,  and  littered  with 
broken  spars,  dismounted  guns,  and  shattered 
timbers.  As  the  British  officers  came  on  board 
they  carefully  picked  their  way  over  the  bodies 
of  the  slain  as  they  came  aft  to  surrender  their 
swords,  which  Perry  requested  them  to  retain, 
inquiring  with  deep  interest  for  Commodore 
Barclay  and  the  other  wounded  officers. 

The  loss  in  the  Lawrence  alone  was  twenty- 
two  killed  and  sixty-one  wounded,  out  of  a  total 
loss  for  the  squadron  of  twenty-seven  killed  and 
ninety-six  wounded,  or  eighty-three  in  one  ship 
out  of  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
for  the  twelve  vessels.  The  British  loss  was  forty- 
one  killed  and  ninety-four  wounded.  Com- 
modore Barclay  reported  that  every  commander 
and  every  officer  second  in  command  of  his  fleet 


1 84  The  American  Navy 

were  disabled.  When  the  Niagara  bore  down  and 
delivered  her  raking  fire,  Barclay  received  a 
grape-shot  in  the  right  shoulder  which  broke  the 
shoulder-blade  to  pieces.  The  gallant  captain 
had  already  been  wounded,  earlier  in  the  action, 
in  the  thigh. 

After  receiving  the  surrender  of  the  British 
fleet,  Perry  took  an  old  letter  from  his  pocket, 
and,  on  the  blank  sheet,  wrote  to  General 
Harrison  as  follows: 

DEAR  GENERAL:  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and 
they  are  ours! — two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner, 
and  one  sloop. 

Yours  with  great  respect  and  esteem, 

O.  H.  PERRY. 

To  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  he  wrote: 

SIR:  It  has  pleased  the  Almighty  to  give  to  the 
arms  of  the  United  States  a  signal  victory  over 
their  enemies  on  this  lake.  The  British  squadron, 
consisting  of  two  ships,  two  brigs,  one  schooner,  and 
one  sloop,  have  this  moment  surrendered  to  the 
force  under  my  command  after  a  sharp  conflict.  I 
have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  very  respectfully, 
Your  Obt.  Servant, 

O.  H.  PERRY. 
Hon.  William  Jones, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  day  after   the  battle  Perry  shifted  his 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie          185 

flag  to  the  Ariel,  and,  putting  all  the  sick  and 
wounded  on  board  the  Lawrence,  sent  her  to 
Erie  as  a  hospital-ship.  He  also  visited  Captain 
Barclay  on  board  the  Detroit  and  proffered  his 
sympathy  and  every  available  comfort  to  the 
wounded  prisoner,  with  the  assurance  that  his 
parole  should  be  effected,  which  that  officer 
finally  obtained  at  Perry's  personal  request. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  September  llth,  the  officers 
killed  in  action  on  both  sides  were  buried  near 
the  shore  of  the  lake  at  Put-in-Bay  with  mili- 
tary honors.  Perry  and  the  American  and 
British  officers  marched  two  and  two,  and  the 
drums  and  fifes  of  both  squadrons  played  the 
"  Dead  March,"  while  minute-guns  were  fired 
from  the  ships  of  both  squadrons. 

The  comparative  force  of  the  two  combatants 
in  this  fight  is  variously  stated,  no  two  accounts 
agreeing  exactly.  Roosevelt  asserts  that  the 
superiority  of  the  Americans  in  long-gun  metal 
was  nearly  as  three  is  to  two,  and  in  carronade 
metal  greater  than  two  to  one.  He  gives  Perry 
nine  vessels,  of  1671  tons,  with  532  in  crews 
(416  fit  for  duty),  his  vessels  throwing  936 
pounds  of  metal  in  broadside.  To  Barclay  he 
awards  six  vessels,  of  1460  tons,  with  440  in 
crews,  the  British  throwing  459  pounds  of  metal 
in  broadside. 

But,  even  granting  these  figures  are  correct, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Niagara  and 
three  of  the  American  schooners  were  prac- 


1 86  The  American  Navy 

tically  out  of  the  fight  until  after  the  Lawrence 
had  been  disabled,  and  also  that  the  Ariel  and 
Scorpion  each  lost  one  of  their  thirty-two's  in 
the  very  beginning  of  the  fight.  The  thirty-five 
long  guns  of  Barclay's  fleet,  to  Perry's  fifteen, 
was  also  an  important  advantage,  as  a  great 
portion  of  the  action  was  fought  at  long  range 
and  the  Lawrence  was  severely  cut  up  by  the 
Detroit's  long  guns  before  she  could  bring  her 
carronades  into  effective  play. 

It  is  also  an  important  factor  that  Barclay's 
fleet  was  manned  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  sea- 
men from  the  royal  navy,  eighty  hardy  Canadian 
sailors,  and  two  hundred  and  forty  British 
regular  soldiers;  while  Perry's  crews  were  made 
up  mainly  of  raw  recruits  and  volunteer  soldiers, 
with  a  few  sailors  brought  overland  from  New 
England.  When  the  Lawrence  went  into  action 
she  had  thirty-four  of  her  complement  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  on  the  sick-list. 

The  result  of  this  victory  was  momentous  in 
the  extreme,  for  had  it  gone  the  other  way,  Gen- 
eral Proctor,  with  the  Indian  chief,  Tecumseh, 
was  at  Maiden  with  five  thousand  men,  ready 
to  cross  the  frontier  and  lay  waste  the  territory 
of  the  United  States.  But,  on  September  23d, 
Perry  carried  General  Harrison's  army  across 
the  lake,  and,  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames, 
Proctor  was  signally  defeated,  and  Tecumseh,  a 
brave  and  relentless  enemy  of  the  Americans, 
was  killed.  Four  days  later  Perry  co-operated 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Erie          187 

with  the  army  in  the  reoccupation  of  Detroit, 
and  our  northwest  territory  was  soon  freed  from 
British  occupation. 

Perry  was  at  once  promoted  to  Captain,  and 
received  the  thanks  of  Congress  and  a  gold 
medal.  The  city  of  Boston  presented  him  with 
a  set  of  silver;  other  cities  voted  him  thanks, 
while  the  country  rang  with  the  public  rejoic- 
ings. A  gold  medal  was  also  awarded  by  Con- 
gress to  Captain  Elliott,  silver  medals  to  each 
of  the  commissioned  officers,  and  swords  to  the 
nearest  male  relatives  of  the  officers  killed  in 
battle.  Congress  also  voted  $255,000  prize- 
money  to  the  captors  of  the  British  fleet,  of 
which  sum  Commodore  Chauncey  (who  was  on 
Lake  Ontario  when  the  battle  was  fought)  re- 
ceived the  lion's  share — $12,750,  while  Perry 
would  have  had  only  $7140,  if  Congress  had 
not  voted  him  $5000  additional  compensation. 

On  October  25,  1813,  Perry  resigned  his  com- 
mand on  Lake  Erie  and  was  ordered  to  the 
command  of  the  new  frigate  Java,  then  fitting 
out  at  Baltimore,  and  he  was  subsequently  with 
Decatur  in  his  operations  against  Algiers.  While 
commanding  the  naval  station  in  the  West  In- 
dies, Perry  died  of  yellow  fever  in  Port  of  Spain, 
Island  of  Trinidad,  on  August  23,  1819,  and  his 
body  was  sent  home  in  a  man-of-war  to  his 
native  town,  Kingston,  Rhode  Island.  A  monu- 
ment was  there  erected  over  his  grave,  while 
both  at  Newport  and  Cleveland,  Ohio,  statues 


1 88  The  American  Navy 

have  been  set  up  to  the  memory  of  this  brilliant 
naval  officer. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  War  of  1812,  the 
Lawrence,  with  other  vessels  of  the  squadron, 
was  dismantled  and  laid  up,  and  she  was  sub- 
sequently sold. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  BATTLE  OF  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN.      THE  DESTRUC- 
TION OF  THE  "GENERAL  ARMSTRONG"  AND  THE 

CAPTURE   OF   THE   "  ST.    LAWRENCE" 

'"TOWARD  the  close  of  the  summer  of  1814  it 
1  became  apparent  that  the  British  medi- 
tated an  important  movement  on  the  frontiers 
of  New  York  and  Vermont.  Large  bodies  of 
troops  who  had  seen  service  in  the  Peninsular 
War  were  poured  into  Canada,  and  it  became 
known  that  a  heavy  detachment,  under  General 
Sir  George  Prevost,  was  advancing  upon  Platts- 
burg.  A  regular  force  of  American  troops,  un- 
der General  Macomb,  quite  inadequate  to  resist 
the  attack,  were  awaiting  the  British  force.  In 
such  a  campaign  as  this  promised,  with  Canada 
as  a  base,  the  command  of  Lake  Champlain  be- 
came of  great  importance,  as  it  flanked  the  march 
of  the  invading  army  for  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  and  offered  great  facilities  for  forwarding 
supplies  to  the  army. 

In  August,  1814,  Master-Commandant  Thomas 
Macdonough  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  American  naval  forces  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  with  headquarters  at  Plattsburg  Bay. 
Macdonough  received  his  midshipman's  warrant 

189 


190  The  American  Navy 

in  1800  and  he  was  one  of  the  young  officers 
who  accompanied  Decatur  in  his  perilous  feat 
of  burning  the  Philadelphia)  February  16,  1804. 
Macdonough  was  sent  out  to  Lake  Charnplain 
to  relieve  Lieutenant  Sydney  Smith,  who  had 
lost  his  two  vessels  to  the  British;  and  it  was 
Macdonough's  task  to  construct  a  new  naval 
force  on  the  lake  and  to  endeavor  to  regain  our 
supremacy  on  those  waters. 

The  young  commander  went  to  work  with  a 
will  and  within  forty  days  from  the  time  the 
trees  had  been  standing  in  the  forest  that  fur- 
nished the  timber  of  which  the  Saratoga  was 
built  at  Vergennes,  Vermont,  she  was  launched 
and  immediately  received  her  armament  of  eight 
long  twenty-fours  and  eighteen  smaller  guns. 
The  brig  Eagle.,  twenty  guns,  the  schooner  Ticon- 
deroga,  17,  and  the  sloop  Preble,  7,  with  ten 
gunboats,  carrying  sixteen  guns,  were  also  soon 
ready  for  service.  The  British  commander,  Cap- 
tain Downie,  had  in  readiness  to  oppose  this 
force  the  frigate  Confiance,  thirty-nine  guns,  the 
brig  Linnet^  sixteen  guns,  the  sloops  Chubb  and 
Finch)  eleven  guns  each,  and  thirteen  large 
galleys  armed  with  one  gun  each. 

On  Sunday  morning,  September  llth,  the 
British  squadron  stood  up  to  Plattsburg  Bay, 
where  the  American  fleet  awaited  them  at  an- 
chor in  line  formation.  There  was  little  breeze 
and  the  British  ships  formed  a  line  parallel  to 
the  Americans.  The  Eagle  opened  the  action 


THOMAS    MACDONOUGH 
From  an  engraving  of  the  painting  by  J.  \V.  Jarvis 


The  Battle  of  Lake  Champlain     191 

with  a  broadside  which  fell  short,  when  the 
Saratoga  at  once  replied,  Macdonough  himself 
sighting  and  firing  the  first  gun,  the  shot  raking 
the  deck  of  the  Confiance  and  shattering  her 
wheel.  The  brave  Downie,  however,  held  his 
fire,  working  his  ship  nearer  to  the  Saratoga., 
and  not  until  he  had  anchored  in  a  favorable 
position  did  he  return  Macdonough's  fire. 

When  this  manoeuvre  was  effected,  however, 
he  opened  a  hot  and  very  accurate  broadside 
fire,  which  was  terribly  destructive,  forty  of  the 
Americans  being  killed  or  wounded  within  a 
few  minutes,  Mr.  Gamble,  the  First  Lieutenant 
of  the  Saratoga,  among  them.  But  the  return 
fire  of  the  American  flagship  was  equally  de- 
structive and,  one  of  her  shot  striking  a  gun 
on  the  deck  of  the  Confiance,  it  was  thrown  from 
its  carriage  striking  Captain  Downie,  who  was 
instantly  killed  by  the  shock,  although  his  skin 
was  not  broken. 

By  this  time  the  Saratoga's  starboard  battery, 
with  the  exception  of  one  gun,  was  either  dis- 
mounted or  disabled,  and  Macdonough  let  go  a 
stern  anchor  and  with  springs  on  the  stern  cable 
winded  the  ship  to  bring  her  port  battery  to  bear. 
The  Confiance  attempted  the  same  manoeuvre, 
but,  when  half  warped,  she  hung  and,  thus  ex- 
posed to  the  raking  fire  of  the  Saratoga  and  the 
Eagle,  she  was  compelled  to  strike  within  fifteen 
minutes.  The  British  sloop  that  was  opposed 
to  the  Eagle  and  the  one  engaging  our  galleys 


192  The  American  Navy 

also  struck,  and  the  British  galleys,  finding  the 
day  was  lost,  incontinently  made  off  and  es- 
caped by  using  their  sweeps. 

The  ships  on  both  sides  were  badly  cut  up, 
the  Saratoga  having  fifty-five  shot-holes  in  her 
hull  and  the  Confiance  one  hundred  and  five, 
while  the  smaller  vessels  were  equally  injured. 
In  this  long  and  bloody  conflict  the  American 
loss  was  fifty-two  killed  and  fifty-eight  wounded. 
The  British  loss  was  about  three  hundred  killed 
and  wrounded. 

The  consequences  of  this  victory  were  imme- 
diate and  most  important.  During  the  action 
Sir  George  Prevost  had  skirmished  in  front  of 
the  American  works  and  was  busily  making 
preparations  for  a  more  serious  attack.  As 
soon  as  the  fate  of  the  British  squadron  was 
ascertained,  however,  he  made  a  precipitate  and 
unmilitary  retreat,  abandoning  military  stores 
and  supplies.  From  that  moment  until  the  end 
of  the  war  the  northern  frontier  was  cleared  of 
the  enemy. 

In  recognition  of  his  victory  Macdonough  was 
promoted  to  Captain  and  received  a  gold  medal 
from  Congress,  while  the  State  of  Vermont  pre- 
sented him  with  an  estate  at  Cumberland  Head, 
overlooking  the  scene  of  the  engagement,  a 
property  which  is  still  held  in  the  family. 

THE   "  GENERAL    ARMSTRONG  " 

The  most  desperate  combat  recorded  in  the 


The  "General  Armstrong"       193 

history  of  privateering  during  the  War  of  1812 
was  that  maintained  by  the  brig  General  Arm- 
strong, of  New  York,  Captain  Samuel  G.  Keid, 
seven  guns  with  a  crew  of  ninety  men,  including 
officers. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1814,  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  General  Armstrong 
lay  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Fayal,  Azores, 
when,  in  flagrant  violation  of  the  laws  of  neutral- 
ity, four  large  and  heavily  armed  launches,  car- 
rying one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  from  the 
British  flagship  Plantagenet,  74;  the  frigate 
Rota,  44;  and  the  brig  Carnation,  18,  were  ob- 
served pulling  into  the  harbor  heading  toward 
the  General  Armstrong.  The  moon  was  shining 
brightly  and,  as  soon  as  the  boats  approached, 
Captain  Keid  hailed  them,  but  received  no 
answer. 

The  boats  and  the  privateer  opened  fire  simul- 
taneously and  the  attacking  party  was  soon 
repulsed  with  great  loss,  the  Armstrong  losing 
one  man  killed,  while  her  first  lieutenant  was 
wounded.  At  midnight,  however,  the  attack 
was  renewed  by  fourteen  launches,  carrying 
about  five  hundred  men.  A  furious  conflict  en- 
sued, which  lasted  forty  minutes,  no  quarter 
being  given  on  either  side.  The  enemy,  however, 
were  at  last  repulsed  with  a  loss  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  killed  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
wounded. 

Captain  Reid,  now  convinced  that  his  oppo- 
13 


i94  The  American  Navy 

nents  were  determined  upon  the  destruction  of 
his  vessel  at  any  odds,  commenced  warping  the 
brig  under  the  guns  of  the  castle,  and  called 
upon  the  commandant  for  the  protection  to 
which  he  was  entitled  by  international  law  in  a 
neutral  port.  His  precautions  were  speedily 
justified,  for  at  daylight  the  Carnation  was  seen 
standing  in  to  the  harbor,  where  she  took  posi- 
tion and  opened  a  deliberate  and  heavy  fire  upon 
the  privateer. 

Keid,  nothing  daunted,  promptly  responded 
and  the  rapidly  delivered  fire  from  her  long- 
torn  very  soon  caused  the  Carnation  to  with- 
draw. The  Armstrong.,  however,  was  much 
damaged  and,  as  Captain  Eeid  saw  that  his  case 
was  hopeless,  as  the  Portuguese  Governor  de- 
clined to  aid  him,  he  ordered  his  vessel  scuttled 
and  abandoned  her.  The  British  forces  then 
boarded  the  Armstrong,  and  set  her  on  fire.  In- 
credible as  it  may  appear,  while  the  English 
lost  over  three  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded 
in  this  desperate  encounter,  the  American  loss 
was  but  two  killed  and  seven  wounded. 

In  addition  to  the  glory  won  by  the  bravery 
of  this  heroic  resistance  to  the  British  squadron, 
Captain  Keid  and  his  men  undoubtedly  saved 
New  Orleans  from  capture  by  the  delay  caused 
by  this  attack.  The  English  fleet  engaged  was 
part  of  a  squadron  then  gathering  at  Jamaica 
for  the  purpose  of  seizing  New  Orleans,  and  the 
object  of  the  attack  upon  the  Armstrong  was  to 


" Chasseur"  and  "St.  Lawrence"     195 

capture  her  and  make  her  a  useful  auxiliary  in 
that  work.  She  so  crippled  her  assailants,  how- 
ever, that  they  did  not  reach  Jamaica  until  full 
ten  days  later  than  the  expedition  expected  to 
have  sailed.  Had  the  fleet  approached  New 
Orleans  ten  days  earlier  than  it  did,  the  city 
would  have  been,  without  doubt,  an  easy  prey 
to  the  British,  for  General  Jackson  had  not  then 
made  his  arrangements  for  its  defence. 

Upon  his  return  to  the  United  States  Captain 
Reid  was  given  a  public  dinner  by  the  Virginia 
Legislature,  and  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  York  gave  him  a  vote  of  thanks 
and  a  sword  of  honor,  Tammany  Hall  presenting 
him  with  a  service  of  plate.  Captain  Reid  was 
subsequently  appointed  a  sailing-master  in  the 
United  States  Navy,  holding  that  office  until 
his  death,  January  28,  1861. 

THE    "  CHASSEUR  "    AND    "  ST.    LAWRENCE  " 

In  January,  1815,  the  privateer  brig  Chasseur, 
16,  Captain  Thomas  Boyle,  sailed  from  Bal- 
timore, Maryland.  On  her  cruise  she  made 
eighteen  prizes,  and  in  manning  these  vessels 
she  reduced  her  crew  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
men  to  eighty.  She  was  then  chased  by  the 
Barassa  frigate  and,  to  escape  her,  lightened  by 
throwing  overboard  ten  of  her  long  twelves. 
These  guns  were  later  partially  replaced  by  add- 
ing eight  nine-pound  carronades  taken  from  a 


i96  The  American  Navy 

prize,  but  as  she  had  no  nine-pound  shot  the 
nine-pounders  were  loaded,  as  a  makeshift,  with 
one  four-pound  and  one  six-pound  shot. 

On  February  26th,  while  two  leagues  from 
Havana,  the  Chasseur  fell  in  with  the  British 
man-of-war  St.  Lawrence,  Lieutenant  H.  C.  Gor- 
don, mounting  twelve  twelve-pound  carronades 
and  one  long  nine,  carrying  between  sixty  and 
eighty  men.  Captain  Boyle,  mistaking  the  St. 
Lawrence  for  a  merchant  vessel,  at  once  closed 
with  her  and  a  brief  but  bloody  action  ensued. 
At  1.26  P.M.  the  St.  Lawrence  fired  the  first 
broadside,  within  pistol-shot,  to  which  the  Chas- 
seur responded  with  her  great  guns  and  with 
musketry.  Captain  Boyle  then  tried  to  close, 
so  as  to  board,  but,  having  too  much  way  on, 
shot  ahead  under  the  lee  of  his  antagonist,  who 
put  her  helm  up  to  wear  under  the  Chasseur's 
stern.  Boyle,  however,  followed  his  antagonist's 
manoeuvre,  and  the  two  vessels  ran  along  side 
by  side,  the  St.  Lawrence  drawing  ahead,  while 
the  firing  was  very  heavy.  Then  Captain  Boyle 
put  his  helm  a-starboard  and  ran  his  adversary 
aboard,  when,  in  the  act  of  boarding,  the  colors 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  were  struck  at  1.41  P.M., 
fifteen  minutes  after  the  first  shot. 

Of  the  Chasseur's  crew  five  were  killed  and 
eight  wounded,  including  Captain  Boyle, 
slightly.  Of  the  St.  Lawrence's  crew  six  were 
killed  and  seventeen  wounded.  The  St.  Law- 
rence had  originally  been  an  American  priva- 


"Chasseur"  and  "St.  Lawrence"    197 

teer  called  the  Atlas,  and  was  captured  by  the 
British  and  taken  into  their  service.  At  the 
time  of  her  capture  the  St.  Lawrence  was  bear- 
ing important  despatches  and  a  number  of 
officers,  as  passengers,  from  Rear  Admiral  Cock- 
burn  to  the  British  expedition  against  New 
Orleans.  The  night  of  her  capture  the  masts 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  went  by  the  board  and,  not 
desiring  to  bring  home  so  many  prisoners,  Cap- 
tain Boyle  made  a  cartel  of  his  prize  and  sent 
his  prisoners  by  her  into  Havana. 


PART  II 

The  Civil  War  and  the  War  with  Spain 


199 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  MUTINY  OF  THE  "  SOMERS  " 

r"PHE  highest  crime  known  to  the  law  is  trea- 
1  son,  because  it  draws  into  its  train  the 
perpetration  of  all  other  crimes.  On  the  sea, 
and  in  the  narrow  confines  of  a  ship,  the  crime 
of  mutiny  corresponds  in  enormity,  as  in  its 
general  character,  with  treason.  It  is  an  en- 
deavor to  overturn  the  government  of  the  ship, 
which  is  a  portion  of  the  floating  sovereignty 
of  the  country,  and  murder  and  piracy  follow 
in  its  train. 

In  the  history  of  the  British  navy  there  have 
been  several  mutinies,  including  the  famous 
mutiny  of  the  Bounty,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  in 
1789;  the  mutiny  at  Spithead  in  1794,  followed 
later  by  the  mutiny  of  the  Nore,  and,  in  1797, 
the  sanguinary  mutiny  of  the  Hermione,  when 
all  her  officers  were  murdered  and  the  vessel 
taken  into  the  Spanish  port  of  La  Guaira 
and  surrendered  to  the  authorities,  Spain  being 
at  that  time  at  war  with  England.  A  very 
similar  case  was  that  of  H.  B.  M.  ship  Danae,  in 
which  the  officers  were  all  murdered  and  the 
ship  carried  into  Brest,  in  1800. 

But  the  United  States  has  been  more  fortu- 

201 


202  The  American  Navy 

nate  in  that  respect,  for  the  conspiracy  on  board 
the  brig  Somers,  that  was  nipped  in  the  bud, 
is  the  only  incident  of  that  character  recorded 
in  the  history  of  the  American  navy. 

On  the  12th  of  September,  1842,  the  U.  S.  brig 
Somers,  Commander  Alexander  Slidell  Macken- 
zie, sailed  from  New  York,  bound  to  the  coast 
of  Africa,  bearing  despatches  for  the  U.  S.  S. 
Vandalia  on  that  station.  The  Somers  was  a 
small,  swift  brig  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  tons, 
pierced  for  fourteen  guns,  but  mounting  ten, 
with  a  complement  of  one  hundred  and  twenty, 
including  twelve  officers,  nine  ordinary  seamen, 
and  six  landsmen,  the  remainder  being  naval 
apprentices  from  the  naval  training  school  on 
board  the  U.  S.  S.  North  Carolina. 

The  commander,  in  his  twenty-seven  years  of 
service,  had  gained  honors  in  other  fields  of  ex- 
ertion beside  his  profession  and  had  won  a  dis- 
tinguished name.  Among  the  junior  officers  was 
Acting-Midshipman  Philip  Spencer,  a  son  of 
John  C.  Spencer,  of  New  York,  then  Secretary 
of  War  in  the  Cabinet  of  President  John  Tyler, 
and  a  nephew  of  Captain  William  A.  Spencer, 
U.  S.  N.,  wrho  had  had  the  young  man  under 
his  special  supervision  until,  being  ordered  to 
the  Mediterranean  squadron,  he  had  placed  him 
in  care  of  Junior  Lieutenant  William  Craney 
of  the  North  Carolina. 

Craney's  guardianship  of  young  Spencer, 
however,  resulted  disastrously  to  that  officer,  as 


The  Mutiny  of  the  "  Somers  "     203 

the  youngster  was  not  only  intemperate,  but 
disinclined  to  submit  to  discipline,  and  as  an 
outcome  of  an  attempt  at  punishment  for  his 
offences  political  influence  was  brought  to  bear 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  end  in  Craney  leaving 
the  service.  Spencer  meanwhile  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  U.  S.  S.  John  Adams,  on  the  Brazil 
station,  where  his  vicious  indiscretions  gained 
him  the  censure  of  the  Navy  Department  and 
the  young  man  only  escaped  a  court-martial 
through  his  father's  influence  and  his  promises 
of  amendment. 

Before  entering  the  navy,  in  1841,  Spencer 
had  been  at  Union  College,  Schenectady,  where 
his  reputation  for  misbehavior  in  refusing  to 
conform  to  the  discipline  of  the  school  and  for 
a  strange  addiction  to  piratical  adventure  was 
singularly  pronounced.  With  such  antecedents, 
better  conditions  for  the  development  of  these 
abnormal  traits  could  scarcely  have  been  found 
than  was  presented  by  Spencer's  orders  to  the 
Somers — a  rakish,  swift-sailing,  armed  brig, 
bound  on  a  cruise  to  the  coast  of  Africa. 

During  the  voyage,  it  was  observed  that  the 
young  man  associated  very  little  with  the  other 
officers,  but  was  continually  intimate  with  the 
crew.  He  drew  from  the  purser  large  quanti- 
ties of  tobacco  and  cigars,  which  he  distributed 
among  the  apprentices,  whose  favor  he  seemed 
desirous  to  secure.  On  the  day  before  leaving 
New  York  he  gave  money  to  Ordinary  Seaman 


204  The  American  Navy 

Elisha  Small;  on  the  passage  to  Madeira  he 
gave  at  one  time  fifteen  dollars  to  Boatswain's 
Mate  Samuel  Cromwell;  he  also  corrupted  the 
wardroom  steward  and  induced  him  to  steal 
brandy  from  the  mess,  which  he  drank  himself 
and  distributed  among  his  favorites  of  the  crew. 

After  leaving  Madeira,  on  her  passage  to  the 
coast,  the  influence  of  Spencer  seemed  to  be 
gaining  an  ascendancy,  while  his  intimacy  with 
Cromwell,  Small,  and  others  of  the  crew  was 
observed  to  increase.  His  manner  toward  his 
messmates  became  more  reserved,  but  among 
the  crew  he  was  loud  and  blasphemous  in  his 
abuse  of  the  commander,  declaring  that  it  would 
give  him  real  pleasure  to  roll  that  officer  over- 
board from  the  maintop. 

The  final  discovery  of  the  mutinous  plot  came 
about  in  this  way.  With  Purser's  Steward 
James  M.  Wales  the  Commander  had  a  slight 
difficulty  after  leaving  Madeira,  which  probably 
led  Spencer  to  believe  that  the  steward  could 
be  drawn  into  his  designs.  The  Somers  had 
left  Cape  Palmas  on  the  llth  of  November  for 
the  United  States,  intending  to  touch  at  the 
island  of  St.  Thomas  for  fresh  provisions  and 
water. 

On  the  night  of  November  25th,  while  Wales 
was  standing  forward  by  the  bitts,  Spencer  came 
up  and  after  a  few  remarks  about  the  weather, 
requested  the  man  to  get  on  top  of  the  booms,  as 
he  had  something  very  important  to  communi- 


The  Mutiny  of  the  "Somers"     205 

cate  to  him.  After  taking  this  position  Spencer 
prescribed  an  oath  of  most  solemn  secrecy,  and 
then,  with  great  seriousness,  revealed  his  plans. 

According  to  Wales's  account,  Spencer  said 
he  was  then  leagued  with  about  twenty  of  the 
brig's  company  to  take  the  vessel,  murder  all 
her  officers,  and  enter  upon  a  career  of  piracy. 
The  plan  and  stations  of  the  men  were  arranged 
in  a  paper  concealed  in  his  cravat.  Spencer  re- 
quested Wales  to  feel  of  his  neck  handkerchief, 
and  he  said,  on  his  examination,  that  there  was 
a  rumpling  which  showed  that  there  was  paper 
in  the  back  part  of  it.  The  affray  was  to  be 
commenced  some  night  when  Spencer  had  the 
mid-watch. 

Several  of  his  confederates  were  to  engage 
in  a  fight  on  the  forecastle.  Spencer  was  then 
to  order  them  to  the  mast,  and  under  pretence 
of  settling  the  difficulty  he  was  to  call  Lieu- 
tenant Rogers,  the  officer  of  the  deck,  whom  the 
men  were  to  seize,  as  soon  as  he  came  to  the 
gangway,  and  throw  overboard.  The  keys  of 
the  arm-chest,  Spencer  said,  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on  at  any  moment,  armed  men  were  to 
be  stationed  at  the  hatches  to  prevent  any  one 
from  coming  on  deck,  and  the  mutineers  would 
then  have  the  brig  in  their  possession. 

Spencer  said  he  should  next  proceed  to  the 
cabin  and  murder  the  commander,  with  the 
least  noise  possible,  after  which,  with  some  of 
his  men,  he  would  penetrate  the  wardroom  and 


206  The  American  Navy 

dispose  of  the  officers,  who  had  no  arms,  except 
the  first  lieutenant,  who  had  an  old  cutlass, 
which  he  should  take  care  to  secure  before  the 
affray  commenced.  This  accomplished,  Spencer 
said  he  should  go  on  deck,  and  cause  the  two 
after-guns  to  be  slued  around  so  as  to  command 
the  vessel's  decks  from  a  raking  position.  He 
would  then  cause  all  the  crew  to  be  called  on 
deck  and,  after  selecting  from  them  such  as 
would  suit  his  purpose,  he  would  have  the  re- 
mainder thrown  overboard,  particularly  the 
small  apprentice  boys,  who  were  useless,  except 
as  biscuit  consumers.  This  done  the  brig  was 
to  proceed  to  Cape  San  Antonio,  or  to  the  Isle 
of  Pines,  and  there  take  on  board  one  who  was 
familiar  with  their  intended  business,  and  who 
was  ready  and  willing  to  join  them.  Then  was 
to  commence  the  career  of  piracy. 

Wales  stated  that  Spencer  dwelt  with  great 
complacency  upon  the  details  of  his  plan  and 
the  pleasures  that  it  promised.  Prizes  were  to 
be  captured,  and  after  taking  from  them  what- 
ever would  be  of  use,  the  crews  were  to  be  mur- 
dered, except  such  women  as  might  be  on  board, 
who  were  to  be  reserved  for  a  more  brutal 
purpose,  and  the  ships  were  to  be  scuttled,  that 
no  clue  should  remain. 

Wales  said  he  was  too  much  astonished  to 
make  any  reply,  and  Spencer  then  called  up 
Small,  whom  he  addressed  in  Spanish.  Small 
looked  surprised  at  what  was  told  him,  but 


The  Mutiny  of  the  "Somers"     207 

Spencer  remarked,  in  English :  "  Oh,  you  need 
not  be  under  any  apprehension  on  his  account, 
as  I  have  sounded  him  pretty  well,  and  find 
him  one  of  us."  Small  responded  "  that  he  was 
very  glad  to  hear  it."  He  was  then  called  away 
about  his  duty,  and  Spencer  made  overtures  to 
Wales,  offering  him  the  place  of  third  in  com- 
mand, if  he  would  join  in  the  conspiracy. 

Thinking  it  prudent  to  dissemble,  Wales  said 
he  was  favorably  disposed  to  the  plan,  and  as 
they  parted,  Spencer  assured  him  if  he  lisped  a 
syllable  of  what  had  been  communicated  to  him 
he  would  be  murdered,  either  by  himself  or  some 
other,  and  that,  go  where  he  might,  his  life  would 
not  be  worth  a  straw,  if  he  betrayed  the  plot. 

Wales  promised  secrecy,  but  resolved  at  once 
to  communicate  all  that  he  had  heard  to  the 
commander.  He  found  himself,  however,  so 
closely  watched  by  Small  or  Spencer  that  he 
was  foiled  in  his  attempt  that  night,  but  the 
next  morning  he  succeeded  in  imparting  his  in- 
formation to  Mr.  Hieskell,  the  purser,  who  in 
turn  communicated  with  Lieutenant  Gansevoort 
and  he  with  the  commander,  without  creating 
any  suspicion. 

Captain  Mackenzie  was  at  first  inclined  to 
treat  the  matter  with  ridicule,  as  the  whole 
affair  seemed  too  monstrous  for  belief,  yet  he 
directed  the  lieutenant  to  keep  a  careful  watch 
upon  Spencer  and  to  report  everything  that  ap- 
peared suspicious  in  his  movements. 


208  The  American  Navy 

Later  in  the  day  Gansevoort,  who  had  been 
an  anxious  observer  of  what  passed,  urged  upon 
his  commander  the  wisdom  of  taking  some  active 
measures  at  once,  recalling  to  him  the  fate  of 
the  officers  of  the  Bounty,  whose  power  was 
overthrown  by  one  man  in  the  early  morning 
watch,  and  of  the  officers  of  the  Hermione, 
butchered  and  thrown  overboard  while  the  cap- 
tain was  murdered  in  his  cabin.  Captain 
Mackenzie  replied  that  he  should  do  nothing 
hastily;  they  must  all  keep  a  sharp  lookout  and 
at  evening  quarters  he  would  decide  what  course 
it  was  best  to  pursue. 

When  the  drum  beat  that  night  for  quarters, 
the  commander,  in  the  presence  of  the  officers 
on  the  quarter-deck,  directed  the  lieutenant  to 
arrest  Spencer  and  place  him  in  irons,  ordering 
further  that  he  should  be  put  to  instant  death 
if  he  was  detected  in  speaking  to  or  holding 
communication  with  any  of  the  crew.  Spencer 
was  searched,  but  nothing  was  found  upon  him 
except  a  few  scraps  of  paper.  In  a  razor  case 
in  his  locker,  however,  a  piece  of  white  paper 
was  discovered  on  which  was  written  in  Greek 
characters,  which  were  read  by  Midshipman 
Rogers,  a  list  of  four  names  marked  "  certain," 
five  others  marked  "doubtful,"  and  fifteen 
others,  including  the  doctor,  marked  "  to  be 
kept  nolens  volens"  The  names  of  those  as- 
signed to  "  the  wheel,"  "  arm-chest,"  "  cabin," 
"  wardroom,"  and  "  steerage,"  were  also  in  the 


The  Mutiny  of  the  "  Somers  "     209 

list.  Spencer's  name  was  down,  with  others, 
for  the  three  last  stations,  the  duties  of  which, 
it  will  be  remembered,  consisted  in  murdering 
the  commander  and  his  officers. 

Two  days  later,  on  November  28th,  Small  and 
Cromwell  were  placed  under  arrest,  and  on 
November  30th,  McKie,  Wilson,  and  Green 
were  also  put  in  irons,  and  all  were  confined  on 
the  quarter-deck,  the  contracted  dimensions  of 
the  little  brig  affording  no  other  place  secure 
against  an  attempt  at  rescue.  But  here  it  was 
difficult  to  prevent  them  from  communicating 
with  each  other  and  they  interfered  essentially 
with  the  management  of  the  vessel. 

At  the  time  these  six  men  were  arrested  it 
was  the  evident  intention  of  the  commander  to 
take  them  to  the  United  States  for  trial.  But 
during  the  confinement  of  the  prisoners,  sullen- 
ness,  discontent,  inattention  to  duty,  disobedi- 
ence of  orders,  the  sure  precursors  of  open  acts 
of  violence,  were  manifested  by  the  crew. 

Feeling  the  necessity  of  immediate  action, 
therefore,  and  desiring  counsel,  Commander 
Mackenzie  addressed  to  his  officers  a  letter,  in 
which  he  called  upon  them  to  take  into  de- 
liberate and  dispassionate  consideration  the 
present  condition  of  the  vessel,  and  the  contin- 
gencies of  every  nature  throughout  the  remain- 
der of  the  cruise,  and  to  furnish  him  their  united 
counsel  as  to  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued. 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  letter 


The  American  Navy 

the  officers  assembled  in  the  wardroom  and 
commenced  the  sworn  examination  of  witnesses. 
The  whole  day  was  passed  in  the  performance 
of  this  duty,  without  interruption  and  with- 
out regular  food.  The  commander  remained  in 
charge  of  the  deck,  with  the  three  young  mid- 
shipmen on  constant  duty. 

On  the  morning  of  December  1st  the  officers 
again  assembled  in  the  cabin  and  after  further 
consultation  addressed  the  commander  a  letter 
expressing  their  unanimous  opinion  that  the 
safety  of  the  vessel  demanded  the  immediate 
execution  of  Acting-Midshipman  Philip  Spencer, 
Boatswain's  Mate  Samuel  Cromwell,  and  Sea- 
man Elisha  Small,  who, 

in  our  cool,  decided  and  unanimous  opinion  have 
been  guilty  of  a  full  and  determined  intention  to 
commit  mutiny  on  board  of  this  vessel  of  a  most 
atrocious  nature,  and  that  the  revelations  of  the 
circumstances  having  made  it  necessary  to  confine 
others  with  them  ...  we  are  convinced  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  carry  them  to  the  United 
States  and  that  the  safety  of  the  public  property, 
the  lives  of  ourselves  and  of  those  committed  to 
our  charge  require  that  they  should  be  put  to 
death,  in  a  manner  best  calculated,  as  an  example, 
to  make  a  beneficial  impression  upon  the  disaffected. 
This  opinion  we  give  bearing  in  mind  our  duty  to 
our  God,  our  country,  and  to  the  service. 

This  document  was  signed  by  all  the  seven 
officers  on  board.  The  commander  concurred 


The  Mutiny  of  the  "  Somers  "     211 

in  the  opinion  of  his  officers  and  immediate 
measures  were  taken  for  carrying  the  sentence 
of  the  court  into  effect. 

On  December  1st,  as  the  drum  beat  to  quar- 
ters, Captain  Mackenzie  and  his  officers,  in  full 
uniform  and  wearing  side  arms,  appeared  upon 
the  quarter-deck.  The  shrill  whistle  of  the 
boatswain's  mates  called,  "  All  hands  on  deck 
to  witness  punishment!"  The  crew  mustered 
in  silence  on  the  spar-deck.  In  obedience  to 
an  order  from  the  officer  of  the  deck  two  top- 
men  lay  aloft  and  dropped  three  lines,  rove 
through  blocks,  from  the  main-yard  to  the  deck. 

Captain  Mackenzie  then  approached  Spencer 
and  said :  "  I  will  give  you  ten  minutes  to 
prepare  any  message  you  may  wish  to  send  to 
your  parents." 

Falling  on  his  knees  the  young  man  ejacu- 
lated: "  Sir,  I  am  not  fit  to  die! " 

"  At  least,"  responded  the  commander,  "  as 
an  officer,  set  to  the  men  you  have  deluded  the 
example  of  dying  with  decorum !  " 

Spencer  then  recovered  himself  and  gave  no 
further  token  of  fear,  seemingly  communing 
with  himself  in  silent  prayer. 

The  commander  then  passed  to  the  other  side 
of  the  deck  and  made  the  same  announcement 
to  Small  and  to  Cromwell.  The  former  an- 
swered :  "  For  me,  sir,  I  have  nothing  to  send. 
I  have  no  one  to  care  for  me  but  my  poor  old 
mother ! " 


212  The  American  Navy 

After  making  a  protest  against  his  illegal 
punishment,  Spencer  finally  admitted  its  jus- 
tice and  confessed  that  while  on  board  the 
Adams  and  the  Potomac  he  had  meditated  the 
project  of  becoming  a  pirate. 

The  ten  minutes  grace,  first  accorded,  was 
lengthened  to  sixty  before  eight  bells  (twelve 
o'clock)  struck.  As  the  condemned  men  were 
being  placed  in  line  Spencer  begged  Small's  for- 
giveness for  having  led  him  into  trouble  and 
then  turned  to  Mackenzie  and  penitently  asked 
his  pardon.  The  commander  took  the  young 
man's  hand  and  expressed  his  full  forgiveness 
in  strong  and  sympathetic  language,  adding, 
"  You  must  remember  I  have  high  responsibili- 
ties to  fill  to  the  Government,  the  flag,  and  to 
the  crew  of  this  vessel." 

"  You  are  right,  sir,"  Small  answered,  "  you 
are  doing  your  duty  and  I  honor  you  for  it. 
God  bless  the  flag  and  prosper  it."  Then  turn- 
ing to  the  men  who  manned  the  whips,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Now  brother  topmen,  give  me  an  easy 
death!" 

The  drums  rolled,  the  signal  gun  was  fired, 
and  as  its  smoke  slowly  rose  the  three  unfortu- 
nate men  were  run  up  to  the  yard-arm  and  the 
brig's  sails  were  filled  away  by  the  wind ! 

The  writer,  who  as  a  boy  was  then  making 
his  first  voyage  to  sea,  remembers  distinctly  the 
tremendous  excitement  caused  by  this  tragedy 
when  the  Somers  returned  to  New  York.  The 


The  Mutiny  of  the  "  Somers  "     213 

court-martial,  held  upon  Commander  Mackenzie, 
at  his  own  request,  convened  at  the  Brooklyn 
Navy  Yard,  February  23,  1843.  It  was  presided 
over  by  Commodore  John  Downs  and  comprised, 
in  addition,  twelve  of  the  most  distinguished 
officers  of  the  service,  and  their  deliberations 
extended  over  forty  days,  the  longest  naval  court- 
martial  on  record. 

By  the  final  report  Commander  Mackenzie  was 
honorably  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  murder 
on  which  he  was  arraigned,  and  the  report  was 
approved  by  President  Tyler. 

Mr.  R.  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  author  of  Two  Years 
Before  the  Mast,  wrote  of  the  case: 

I  must  say  no  one  ought  to  found  an  opinion 
upon  the  issues  of  this  conspiracy  without  first 
seeing  the  Somers.  You  would  hardly  believe  your 
eyes,  if  you  were  to  see,  as  the  scene  of  this  con- 
spiracy, a  little  brig,  with  low  bulwarks,  a  single 
narrow  deck,  flush  fore  and  aft,  and  nothing  to  mark 
the  officers'  quarters  but  a  long  trunk-house,  or 
companion-way,  raised  a  few  feet  from  the  deck, 
to  let  light  and  air  in,  such  as  you  may  have  seen 
in  our  smaller  packets,  which  ply  along  the  sea- 
board. You  feel  as  though  half  a  dozen  resolute 
conspirators  could  have  swept  the  decks,  and  thrown 
overboard  all  who  opposed  them  before  aid  could 
come  from  below.  And  in  coming  on  deck  (which 
seemed  to  me  more  fearful  than  anything  else  in 
the  officers'  condition)  the  officers  would  have  to 
come  up  the  steps  and  through  the  small  companion 


214  The  American  Navy 

scuttlesj  at  which  a  couple  of  men  could  easily  have 
cut  them  down,  or  shot  them  as  they  appeared. 
...  In  short  no  one,  at  all  acquainted  with  nauti- 
cal matters,  can  see  the  Somers  without  being  made 
feelingly  aware  of  the  defenceless  situation  of  those 
few  officers. 

Charles  Sumner,  in  commenting  upon  the  case, 
said: 

Over  all  errors  of  judgment  under  such  circum- 
stances of  necessity,  the  law  throws  its  ample  shield. 
Whatever  the  commander  does  in  such  an  emergency 
in  good  faith  and  in  the  conscientious  discharge  of 
his  duty,  believing  it  to  be  necessary  to  the  safety 
of  his  ship  or  of  the  lives  of  those  on  board,  re- 
ceives the  protection  of  the  law. 

Commander  Mackenzie  was  very  severely  criti- 
cised for  not  having  held  his  prisoners  until  the 
Somers  reached  St.  Thomas,  only  two  days  after 
the  execution  took  place  and,  although  his  con- 
duct was  defended  by  many  others,  there  is  no 
doubt  but  the  affair  embittered  the  remainder 
of  his  life. 

One  blustering  day  in  the  spring  of  1847,  while 
the  Corners,  then  under  the  command  of  Raphael 
Semmes,  later  of  the  Confederate  navy,  was  on 
the  blockade  of  the  Mexican  coast  she  attempted 
to  intercept  a  vessel  trying  to  run  into  port, 
when  a  sudden  tropical  squall  knocked  the  brig 
on  her  beam  ends  and  the  Somers  sank  out  of 
sight  in  ten  minutes  carrying  down  with  her 
twoscore  souls. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


IN  January,  1862,  more  than  two  months  be- 
fore the  Merrimac  made  her  memorable  at- 
tack upon  our  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads,  Charles 
Ellet,  Jr.,  an  eminent  civil  engineer  wrote: 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  rebels  now 
have  five  steam-rams  nearly  ready  for  use.  Of  these 
two  are  on  the  lower  Mississippi,  two  are  at  Mo- 
bile, and  one  is  at  Norfolk.  The  last  is  doubtless 
the  most  formidable,  being  the  United  States  steam 
frigate  Merrimac,  which  has  been  so  strengthened 
that  in  the  opinion  of  the  rebels  she  may  be  used 
as  a  ram.  But  we  have  not  yet  a  single  vessel  at 
sea,  nor,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  course  of  construc- 
tion, able  to  cope  at  all  with  a  well-built  ram.  If 
the  Merrimac  is  permitted  to  escape  from  the 
Elizabeth  Eiver,  she  will  be  almost  certain  to  com- 
mit great  depredations  on  our  armed  and  unarmed 
vessels  in  Hampton  Roads. 

He  continued  by  saying  that  he  had  in  vain 
called  the  attention  of  the  Navy  Department 
to  this  fact  and  almost  hesitated  to  allude  to 
it  again. 

On  March  8th  the  Merrimac  appeared,  and, 

215 


216  The  American  Navy 

as  Ellet  predicted,  wrought  her  work  of  havoc 
and  destruction,  that  was  only  stayed  by  the 
timely  appearance  of  the  Monitor  on  the  fol- 
lowing day.  Upon  this  startling  verification  of 
his  neglected  admonitions  Ellet  was  at  once 
summoned  to  the  War  Department  and,  after  a 
short  conference  with  Mr.  Stanton,  received  a 
commission  as  colonel  in  the  army  and  was  sent 
to  St.  Louis  with  full  authority  to  purchase,  re- 
fit, man,  and  command  any  number  of  vessels 
deemed  necessary  in  his  judgment  to  meet  and 
defeat  the  fleet  of  ironclad  rams  then  known  to 
be  building  on  the  lower  Mississippi  Eiver. 
Ellet  hastened  west  and  immediately  com- 
menced his  preparations,  but  in  May,  while  his 
work  was  still  in  progress,  news  came  that  the 
Confederate  river  defence  fleet  had  attacked  our 
fleet  of  gunboats  near  Craighead's  Point  and 
had  disabled  two  of  them. 

Colonel  Ellet,  receiving  most  urgent  telegrams 
from  Stanton  to  hurry  his  rams  forward,  at  once 
despatched  five  of  them  down  the  river  under 
the  command  of  his  brother,  Lieutenant  Alfred 
W.  Ellet,  a  young  man  nineteen  years  of  age, 
who  before  the  end  of  the  war  became  a  brig- 
adier-general of  volunteers.  These  boats  were 
still  incomplete  and  work  upon  them  continued 
as  they  proceeded  to  the  scene  of  action.  Upon 
the  approach  of  the  fleet  Fort  Pillow  was  evac- 
uated by  the  Confederates  and  all  that  stood 
between  Flag  Officer  Charles  H.  Davis  and 


Ellet's  Steam  Rams  217 

Memphis  was  the  Confederate  river  defence 
fleet  of  eight  vessels.  Davis's  fleet  of  five  iron- 
clads included  the  Benton,  Cairo,  Carondelet, 
Louisville,  and  St.  Louis.  Ellet  with  the  rams 
Queen  of  the  West,  Monarch,  Lancaster,  and 
Switzerland,  proceeded  down  the  river,  until  at 
dawn,  June  6th,  at  a  point  a  mile  above  Mem- 
phis, the  report  of  a  gun  was  heard  from  the 
Confederate  vessels. 

Colonel  Ellet  was  standing  on  the  hurricane 
deck  of  the  Queen  at  the  time.  He  immediately 
sprang  forward,  waved  his  hat  to  attract  the 
attention  of  his  brother  on  board  the  Monarch, 
and  loudly  hailed :  "  It  is  a  gun  from  the 
enemy!  Bound  out  and  follow  me!  Now  is 
our  chance  to  go  in  and  win ! " 

Ellet  expected  the  three  rams  would  follow 
his  lead,  but,  by  a  misunderstanding  of  the  sig- 
nals, the  Lancaster  was  run  on  shore  and  her 
rudder  became  disabled,  and  the  Switzerland  re- 
mained behind,  not  participating  in  the  engage- 
ment. Had  these  two  rams  taken  their  share  in 
the  fight,  though  the  general  result  would  not 
have  been  changed,  it  is  not  at  all  probable 
that  a  single  ship  of  the  enemy  would  have 
escaped. 

It  was  a  beautiful  morning,  the  air  clear  and 
perfectly  still,  just  such  another  as  the  day  when 
the  Monitor  joined  issue  with  the  Merrimac  in 
Hampton  Roads.  By  this  time  Flag  Officer 
Davis's  gunboats  had  opened  fire  on  the  enemy 


218  The  American  Navy 

and  the  reports  of  guns  on  both  sides  were  loud 
and  rapid.  A  heavy  wall  of  smoke  was  formed 
hanging  low  across  the  river,  so  that  the  posi- 
tion of  our  vessels  could  only  be  seen  by  the 
flashes  of  their  guns.  Under  a  full  head  of 
steam  the  Queen  plunged  boldly  right  into  this 
wall  of  smoke  and  was  lost  sight  of,  all  but  her 
tall  pipes,  which  reached  far  above  the  smoke. 
The  Monarch  closely  followed  her  leader,  aim- 
ing for  the  General  Price,  which  was  on  the 
right  wing  of  the  advancing  Confederate  line. 

The  Queen,  selecting  the  General  Lovell  as 
her  prey,  made  directly  for  her  in  the  centre 
of  the  line  of  battle.  The  Lovell  tried  to  back 
out  of  the  way,  but  in  so  doing  presented  her 
broadside  to  her  antagonist,  upon  which  the 
Queen  plunged  straightway  into  her  exposed 
side.  The  crash  was  terrific:  the  Lovell's  sides 
were  crushed  in  as  if  made  of  pasteboard  and 
the  unfortunate  vessel,  cut  almost  in  two,  sank 
in  the  turgid  waters  of  the  Mississippi  as  she 
fired  her  last  broadside. 

The  water  was  at  once  full  of  swimming  and 
drowning  men,  and  the  Benton,  Davis's  flagship, 
with  splendid  humanity,  sent  her  boats,  while 
the  battle  raged,  to  the  assistance  of  the  enemy. 
One  of  these  boats  was  swamped  in  launching 
and  two  of  the  crew  came  near  drowning.  The 
tug  Jessie  also  hastened  to  the  rescue,  but  it  was 
estimated  that  fully  fifty  of  the  Lovell's  crew 
were  drowned.  The  Monarch,  meanwhile,  had 


Ellet's  Steam  Rams  219 

struck  the  General  Price  a  glancing  blow,  which 
cut  her  starboard  wheel  clean  off,  and  disabled 
her  from  further  participation  in  the  fight. 

As  soon  as  the  Queen  was  free  from  the  wreck 
of  the  sinking  Lovell,  she  was  attacked  by  two 
of  the  enemy's  vessels,  the  Beauregard  on  one 
side,  the  Sumter  on  the  other,  and  in  the  melee 
one  of  her  wheels  was  disabled.  At  the  same 
time  Colonel  Ellet,  who  was  standing  exposed 
on  the  hurricane  deck,  received  a  pistol-ball  in 
his  knee,  but  lying  prone  on  the  deck  he  ordered 
the  Queen  to  be  run,  with  her  one  wheel,  to  the 
bank  of  the  river,  where  he  received  the  sur- 
render of  the  General  Price.,  upon  her  making 
the  Arkansas  shore.  The  Monarch  meanwhile 
drove  down  the  Beauregard  with  a  well-directed 
blow,  which  crushed  in  her  side,  completely  dis- 
abling her,  and  passed  on  to  the  Little  Rebel., 
the  Confederate  flagship,  which  vessel,  having 
already  received  from  the  Cairo's  fire  a  shot 
through  her  steam  drum,  was  endeavoring  to 
escape.  The  Monarch  pushed  her  hard  and  fast 
aground  and  then,  turning  her  attention  to  the 
sinking  Beauregard,  took  her  in  tow,  made 
prisoners  of  her  crew,  and  towed  her  to  a  bar, 
where  she  sank  to  her  boiler  deck  and  finally 
became  a  total  loss. 

It  was  then  only  that  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Ellet  learned  that  his  gallant  brother  had  been 
wounded.  The  characteristic  orders  he  received 
from  his  disabled  commander  were :  "  Continue 


220  The  American  Navy 

the  pursuit  as  long  as  there  is  any  hope  of  over- 
taking the  flying  enemy !  " 

Flag  Officer  Davis's  gunboats  were,  mean- 
while, gallantly  doing  their  share  of  the  work 
of  the  day.  The  higher  speed  of  Ellet's  rams 
enabled  them  to  pass  through  the  intervals  in 
the  Federal  flotilla  and  the  latter,  coming  after 
them,  completed  with  their  batteries  the  work 
which  the  rams  had  so  successfully  begun.  Thus 
they  secured  the  surrender  of  the  General  Bragg, 
after  she  was  set  on  fire,  and  saved  her.  The 
Jeff  Thompson  burned  and  blew  up  with  a  tre- 
mendous report.  The  Van  Dorn,  sole  survivor 
of  the  Confederate  fleet,  escaped  to  be  afterward 
burned  by  the  enemy  in  the  Yazoo  River,  in 
order  to  prevent  her  falling  into  our  hands.  The 
Sumter  had  not  been  injured,  but  the  hot  fire 
of  the  Carondelet  and  the  Louisville  so  discon- 
certed her  pilot  that  he  ran  the  vessel  ashore 
on  the  Arkansas  bank,  where  she  was  deserted 
by  her  crew. 

And  so  ended  this  spectacular  combat  that 
left  the  Mississippi  open  to  our  gunboats  and 
to  river  commerce,  during  the  remainder  of  the 
war,  from  Cairo  to  Vicksburg. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  engagement  Colonel 
Ellet,  being  informed  that  a  white  flag  had  been 
raised  in  Memphis,  immediately  sent  his  young 
son,  Medical  Cadet  Charles  Ellet,  on  shore  with 
a  party  of  three  men  and  a  flag  of  truce,  to 
demand  the  surrender  of  the  city.  They  landed 


Ellet's  Steam  Rams  221 

and  delivered  Colonel  Ellet's  despatch  to  the 
mayor  and  received  his  reply.  Then,  surrounded 
by  an  excited  and  threatening  crowd,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  post-office,  ascended  to  the  roof, 
and  while  stoned  and  fired  upon  by  the  mob 
below,  young  Ellet  lowered  the  Confederate 
colors  and  raised  the  Stars  and  Stripes  over 
the  city  of  Memphis.  This  incident  occurred 
some  hours  before  the  formal  surrender  of  the 
city  by  the  mayor  to  Colonel  G.  N.  Fitch. 

Colonel  Ellet's  wound  was  not  at  first  con- 
sidered dangerous,  but  complications  ensued  and 
on  June  18th,  on  board  the  Switzerland,  he 
passed  away,  his  devoted  wife  and  young 
daughter  being  with  him  at  the  last.  A  state 
funeral  was  accorded  his  remains  in  Indepen- 
dence Hall,  Philadelphia. 

The  boats  constituting  the  ram  fleet  of  the 
Mississippi  Kiver  were  simply  river  steamers 
hurriedly  strengthened  and  braced  to  sustain 
a  severe  shock.  Colonel  Ellet  wrote  to  Sec- 
retary Stan  ton :  "  The  boats  I  have  purchased 
are  illy  adapted  for  the  work  I  shall  require 
of  them;  it  is  not  their  strength  upon  which 
I  rely,  but  upon  the  audacity  of  our  attack, 
for  success."  He  did  not  rely  on  heavy  ordnance ; 
at  the  battle  of  Memphis  there  were  no  firearms 
on  board  his  rams,  except  a  few  short  carbines 
and  some  revolvers:  his  reliance  was  upon  the 
prows  of  his  vessels.  He  desired,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, to  protect  the  vulnerable  parts  of  his  ship, 


222  The  American  Navy 

the  boilers  and  engines,  and,  with  simply  enough 
men,  as  crew,  to  handle  the  boat  with  certainty 
and  despatch,  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  any  fire 
that  could  be  precipitated  upon  him,  and  drive 
his  ram  deep  into  his  adversary.  At  the  Mem- 
phis fight  not  a  splinter  was  raised  from  either 
of  the  rams,  except  the  disabling  of  one  wheel 
of  the  Queen,  and  not  a  man  sustained  the 
slightest  injury  except  Colonel  Ellet. 

The  battle  of  Memphis  was,  in  many  respects, 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  naval  victories 
on  record.  For  two  unarmed,  frail,  wooden 
river  steamboats,  with  barely  men  enough  on 
board  to  handle  the  machinery  and  keep  the 
furnace  fires  going,  to  rush  to  the  front  between 
two  hostile  fleets,  and  into  the  enemy's  advanc- 
ing line  of  eight  protected,  heavily  armed  and 
fully  manned  vessels,  sinking  one,  disabling  and 
capturing  three,  and  carrying  consternation  to 
the  others,  was  a  sight  never  before  witnessed. 
The  opening  gun  from  the  Little  Rebel  was  fired 
at  5.40  A.M.,  the  rams  engaged  at  5.55,  and  the 
last  gun  from  the  Van  Dorn,  as  she  escaped  at 
the  end  of  the  fight,  was  discharged  at  6.43  A.M. 
This  decisive  battle  thus  lasted  one  hour  and 
three  minutes,  nearly  five  thousand  of  the  citi- 
zens of  Memphis  turning  out,  and  crowding  the 
Iev6e,  to  witness  the  fight,  the  ladies  in  the  as- 
semblage being  nearly  as  numerous  as  the  men. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE   CAPTURE    OF    THE    "  HARRIET   LANE "   AT 
GALVESTON 

ONE  of  the  most  mortifying  and  disastrous 
reverses  our  naval  forces  encountered 
during  the  Civil  War  occurred  in  January,  1863, 
at  Galveston,  Texas.  In  June,  1862,  the  port 
of  Galveston  was  evacuated  by  the  Confederate 
forces  and  our  naval  and  military  authori- 
ties took  possession.  In  December,  the  United 
States  ships  occupying  Galveston  harbor  were 
the  steamers  Harriet  Lane,  Commander  Richard 
Wainwright;  Westfield,  Commander  William  B. 
Renshaw;  Clifton,  Lieutenant-Commander  H. 
Wilson;  Sachem,  A.  V.  Lieutenant  A.  Johnson; 
with  the  armed  schooners  'Velocity  and  Cory- 
pheus;  the  army  transport  Saxon;  and  the  coal 
barks  Ellas  Pike  and  Cavallo.  The  land  force 
included  three  companies  of  the  Massachusetts 
forty-second  regiment,  numbering  three  hundred 
and  sixty  men;  certainly  a  very  respectable 
combined  force,  and  one  that  ought  not  to  have 
been  very  easily  dislodged. 

The  fleet  was  anchored  off  Galveston  in  the 
narrow  channel  between  Fort  Point  and  Pelican 

Island.     The   troops  were  housed  in  buildings 

223 


224  The  American  Navy 

at  the  end  of  a  long  wharf,  under  the  guns  of 
the  ships;  the  landward  approach  to  their  posi- 
tion was  impeded  by  two  lines  of  strong  barri- 
cade and  communication  with  the  shore  was 
further  cut  off  by  the  removal  of  portions  of 
the  wharf  in  front  of  this  obstruction. 

The  Confederate  army  reports  show  that 
Major-General  Magruder,  C.  S.  A.,  secretly  in- 
spected the  position  in  December,  and  formu- 
lated a  plan  for  the  attack  that  was  so 
successfully  carried  out  the  following  month. 
Captain  Leon  Smith,  a  former  Californian,  was 
entrusted  with  the  arrangements  for  the  naval 
movement  and  he  fitted  up,  at  Houston,  the 
steamers  Bayou  City  and  Neptune  with  bul- 
warks of  cotton  bales,  built  into  their  sides. 
The  Bayou  City  was  also  armed  with  a  rifled 
thirty-two-pounder,  mounted  on  her  bow.  The 
Neptune  carried  two  howitzers,  and  one  hundred 
sharpshooters,  detailed  from  two  Texas  regi- 
ments, were  placed  on  board  the  two  vessels. 
About  midnight,  on  December  31st,  these  boats 
moved  down  to  the  bay,  taking  positions  above 
the  town,  and  waited  for  their  co-operating  land 
force  to  open  the  fight. 

At  dawn  of  day  on  January  1,  1863,  the  first 
gun  was  fired  on  shore  and  the  two  boats  at 
once  steamed  down  for  the  Federal  fleet.  As 
they  approached  the  Harriet  Lane,  swinging  to 
her  anchors  with  a  strong  ebb  tide,  the  battle 
began,  the  first  shot  from  the  enemy  striking 


The  Capture  of  the  "  Harriet  Lane"    225 

her  behind  the  wheelhouse.  Captain  Wier,  in 
command  of  the  Bayou  City's  bow  gun,  sighted 
it  for  a  second  shot,  when  one  of  the  crew  cried 
out :  "  Give  them  a  New  Year's  present  for 
me." 

Wier  responded :  "  Well,  here  goes  for  your 
New  Year's  present,"  and,  as  he  pulled  the  lock- 
string,  the  gun  exploded,  killing  him  and  wound- 
ing several  others. 

The  Bayou  City.,  under  full  head  of  steam, 
then  struck  the  Lane  a  glancing  blow,  as  she 
swung  to  the  tide;  the  Neptune  at  the  same 
time  came  up  on  the  starboard  side,  getting  in 
a  severe  blow;  but,  as  she  passed  astern,  a  shot 
from  the  Harriet  Lane  struck  the  Neptune  at 
the  water-line,  causing  her  to  make  water  fast, 
and  she  sheered  off  to  the  channel  and  speedily 
sunk  in  eight  feet  of  water.  By  this  time  the 
Bayou  City  had  rounded  to  and  with  head  up- 
stream ran  again  into  the  Lane,  striking  her 
fairly  abaft  the  larboard  wheel,  running  her 
bow  so  far  under  the  gunwale  and  wheel  that 
the  two  vessels  held  fast  together.  The  rifle- 
men on  the  Confederate  boat  kept  up  a  deadly 
fire,  meanwhile,  from  behind  the  cotton  bales 
upon  the  crew  of  their  antagonist,  until  her 
deck  became  a  scene  of  slaughter. 

The  order  to  board  was  now  given  and  the 
Confederates,  led  by  Major  Smith,  swarmed  on 
the  deck  of  the  Harriet  Lane.  Commander 
Wainwright  fell,  fighting  hand  to  hand  with 


226  The  American  Navy 

Major  Smith;  Lieutenant  Lea,  the  executive 
officer,  was  also  killed,  early  in  the  fray,  and 
Acting-Master  W.  F.  Monroe  was  mortally 
wounded.  It  is  not  very  strange,  then,  that  the 
demoralized  crew  of  the  vessel,  thus  deprived  of 
their  officers,  were  quickly  driven  from  the  deck, 
taking  refuge  below. 

The  Owasco,  which  had  been  anchored  below 
the  town,  coaling,  got  under  weigh  as  soon  as 
the  fight  began,  and  moved  up  to  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Harriet  Lane.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  narrowness  of  the  channel  she  was,  for  some 
time,  unable  to  bring  her  guns  to  bear  on  the 
enemy's  vessels  and,  upon  getting  within  range  of 
them,  her  men  were  driven  from  her  forward 
guns  by  the  galling  fire  of  the  Confederate  sharp- 
shooters, now  on  board  the  Harriet  Lane.  Every 
one  of  her  rifle  gun's  crew,  fifteen  in  all,  were 
wounded  and  one  was  killed  by  this  destruc- 
tive fire.  Perceiving,  therefore,  that  the  Harriet 
Lane  had  been  captured,  the  Owasco  backed 
down  below  the  Sachem  and  Coryplieus.  Before 
the  Harriet  Lane  had  been  taken  the  Clifton 
went  to  the  assistance  of  the  West  field,  that  had 
got  ashore,  and  neither  of  these  vessels  succeeded 
in  getting  into  action  in  time  to  be  of  aid  to 
our  captured  steamer. 

In  the  end  Commander  Renshaw  fired  the 
Westfield  to  prevent  her  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy  and  she  blew  up  with  a  tremendous 
explosion.  She  wras  seen  to  part  or  burst  out 


The  Capture  of  the  "  Harriet  Lane"    227 

forward,  and  when  the  smoke  cleared  away 
there  was  no  sign  of  life  about  her.  Renshaw 
perished  in  the  destruction  of  his  ship.  The 
Clifton,  the  Owasco,  and  the  two  schooners  were 
all  of  the  fleet  that  escaped  capture  or  destruc- 
tion. The  loss  of  life  included  Commanders 
J.  M.  Wain wright  and  W.  B.  Kenshaw,  Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Edward  Lea,  Acting-Master 
W.  F.  Monroe,  Lieutenant  C.  W.  Zimmerman, 
and  Engineer  W.  R.  Greene.  Three  of  the  crew 
of  the  Harriet  Lane  and  fourteen  of  the  West- 
field  were  killed  and  five  wounded,  while  one 
hundred  were  landed  on  shore  as  prisoners.  On 
the  Confederate  side  there  were  twelve  killed, 
including  Captain  Wier,  and  seventy  wounded. 

In  the  boarding  party  from  the  Bayou  City 
was  Dr.  Holland,  of  Houston,  who,  some  years 
before,  had  met  Commander  Wainwright,  then 
the  first  lieutenant  of  the  frigate  Merrimac,  at 
a  dinner  given  by  the  authorities  at  South- 
ampton, England.  The  doctor  never  saw  Wain- 
wright again  alive,  but,  to  his  astonishment,  in 
the  dead  body  of  the  commander  of  the  Harriet 
Lane,  lying  in  his  blood  on  her  decks,  he  recog- 
nized his  fellow-guest  of  years  before.  The  son 
of  Wainwright,  a  lad  of  twelve,  was  found,  after 
the  heat  of  the  melSe,  weeping  bitterly  by  the 
dead  body  of  his  father. 

Another  melancholy  encounter  on  the  deck  of 
the  captured  vessel  was  that  of  Major  Lea,  of 
the  Confederate  army,  who  found,  in  her  dying 


228  The  American  Navy 

lieutenant,  Edward  Lea,  his  own  son.  His 
father  knelt  by  him  and  the  young  man  ex- 
pended nearly  his  last  words  in  making  arrange- 
ments for  his  wounded  comrades.  When  told 
by  the  surgeon  that  he  had  but  a  few  minutes 
to  live  and  asked  to  express  his  wishes,  he  an- 
swered, "  My  father  is  here,"  and  spoke  not 
again.  In  company  with  his  commander  he 
was  buried  with  appropriate  honors.  The  re- 
mains of  Commander  Wainwright  were  removed 
to  the  North,  soon  after  the  war  closed,  but  the 
grave  of  Lieutenant-Commander  Lea  can  still  be 
seen  in  the  Episcopal  cemetery  at  Galveston, 
covered  with  a  plain  marble  block,  inscribed: 

EDWARD    LEA 

LIEUT.-COMMANDER    U.    8.    N. 

BORN    31ST    JANUARY    1837 

KILLED    IN    BATTLE    JANUARY     1ST    1863 

"  MY  FATHER  IS  HERE." 

By  an  order,  dated  the  very  day  of  this  en- 
gagement, January  1,  1863,  Lieutenant-Com- 
mander Lea  had  been  detached  by  Rear  Admiral 
Farragut  from  the  Harriet  Lane  and  was  di- 
rected to  report  at  New  Orleans  for  the  com- 
mand of  the  mortar  boats  of  the  squadron. 

But  disaster  to  our  naval  force  at  Galveston 
did  not  end  with  this  affair.  Ten  days  later  a 
steamer  appeared  in  the  offing  one  evening  and 
the  U.  S.  S.  Hatter  as,  which  had  been  ordered 


The  Capture  of  the  "  Harriet  Lane  "   229 

down  by  Farragut  with  the  Brooklyn,  under 
Commodore  Bell,  upon  the  receipt  of  the  news 
of  the  Galveston  affair,  was  sent  out  to  in- 
vestigate the  stranger.  She  proved  to  be  the 
Confederate  cruiser  Alabama,  Captain  Raphael 
Semmes,  who,  after  answering  Commander  Ho- 
mer C.  Blake's  hail  with  the  reply,  "  This  is  Her 
Majesty's  ship  Vixen"  suddenly  changed  to, 
" This  is  the  Confederate  ship  Alabama"  as  he 
opened  fire  upon  the  Hatteras,  at  one  hundred 
yards  distance.  After  a  brief  engagement  of 
twenty  minutes,  in  which  the  Hatteras  was  re- 
peatedly hulled  and  set  on  fire  in  two  places  by 
exploding  shells,  she  sunk  in  water  so  shallow 
that  her  mast  heads  remained  above  water.  Cap- 
tain Blake  and  his  crew  were  saved  by  Semmes, 
and  were  paroled  and  landed  at  Jamaica. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  DUEL  BETWEEN  THE  "  MONITOR  "  AND  THE 
"  MEEEIMAC  " 

HpHE  most  dramatic  sea  fight  in  our  naval 
1  history,  and,  in  its  subsequent  influence 
upon  the  naval  warfare  of  the  world,  un- 
doubtedly the  most  momentous  conflict  of  the 
nineteeth  century,  was  the  duel  between  the 
ironclads  Merrimac  and  Monitor,  in  Hampton 
Roads,  on  March  9,  1862. 

In  April,  1861,  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities 
between  the  North  and  the  South,  the  Federal 
authorities  having  decided  to  abandon  the  Nor- 
folk Navy  Yard,  the  steam  frigate  Merrimac 
was  scuttled,  hastily  fired,  and  sunk  in  shallow 
water,  her  upper  works  burning  to  the  water's 
edge.  Later  the  hulk  was  raised  by  the  Con- 
federate authorities  and  taken  into  dry  dock, 
where  the  central  part  of  the  hull,  for  something 
more  than  half  of  its  length,  was  cut  down  to 
within  three  or  four  feet  of  the  water-line,  to 
form  the  gun-deck  of  a  floating  battery.  The 
entire  hull  was  then  plated  with  iron  to  a  depth 
of  about  six  feet  below  the  water-line.  A  case- 
mate of  novel  construction  was  built  on  this 
gun-deck  and  pine  beams,  a  foot  square  and 

230 


The  "  Monitor"  and  "  Merrimac"  231 

fifteen  feet  long,  were  placed  side  by  side,  like 
rafters,  at  an  inclination  of  forty-five  degrees, 
projecting  over  the  sides  of  the  vessel,  like  the 
eaves  of  a  house,  their  ends  dipping  two  feet 
below  the  water.  Upon  these  beams  were  placed 
two  layers  of  oak  planks,  four  inches  thick,  one 
layer  horizontal,  the  other  vertical.  This  was 
first  overlaid  with  bars  of  iron  four  and  a  half 
inches  thick  and  afterward  a  layer  of  railroad 
iron  was  superimposed.  The  stem  and  the  stern 
of  the  ram  were  then  plated  with  steel,  and  the 
stem  was  also  provided  with  an  iron  ram,  capable 
of  dealing  a  severe  blow  under  water.  Her 
armament  was  eight  eleven-inch  guns  in  broad- 
side, with  two  one-lmndred-pound  Armstrong 
guns  mounted  forward  and  aft.  In  consequence 
of  the  enormous  weight  of  this  protective  armor 
the  Merrimac  was  found,  when  she  came  out 
of  dry  dock,  to  have  a  draft  of  twenty-five  feet, 
which,  of  course,  prevented  her  from  fighting 
in  shallow  water.  A  contemporary  writer  de- 
scribes this  strange  vessel,  as  she  came  ploughing 
through  the  water,  as  "  looking  like  a  half- 
submerged  crocodile." 

On  the  8th  of  March,  1862,  the  U.  S.  frigate 
Congress.,  44,  and  the  sloop-of-war  Cumber- 
land, 24,  were  lying  at  anchor,  just  to  the 
westward  of  Newport  News  Point,  while  at 
intervals  up  the  roads  toward  Fortress  Monroe 
were  anchored  the  Minnesota.,  54;  the  St.  Law- 
rence, 50;  the  Brandy  wine,  50;  and  the  Roan- 


232  The  American  Navy 

oke,  50,  a  fleet  mounting  over  two  hundred 
guns,  with  nearly  two  thousand  men.  By  an 
unfortunate  chance  Commander  William  Brad- 
ford, of  the  Cumberland,  was  absent  from  his 
ship  on  court-martial  duty,  leaving  Lieutenant 
George  Upham  Morris  in  charge.  Commander 
William  Smith,  of  the  Congress,  had  also  been 
detached,  leaving  Lieutenant  Joseph  B.  Smith 
in  charge.  Paymaster  McKean  Buchanan,  of 
the  Congress,  was  the  brother  of  Captain  Frank- 
lin McKean  Buchanan,  of  the  Merrimac. 

It  was  an  unusually  beautiful  spring  morn- 
ing, bright  and  clear,  the  boats  of  the  fleet  were 
idly  swinging  at  the  ship's  booms,  the  men's 
clothes  were  hanging  to  dry  in  the  rigging.  The 
Cumberland  rode  at  single  anchor,  with  her 
sails  loosed  for  drying;  it  was  a  veritable 
picture  of  peaceful  quiet  in  the  bay.  For  sev- 
eral days  there  had  been  rumors  in  the  fleet  that 
the  Merrimac,  or  the  Virginia,  as  the  Confed- 
erates had  renamed  the  ship,  was  nearly  ready 
for  sea,  but  these  stories,  brought  by  escaping 
contrabands,  being  conflicting,  they  obtained 
scant  credence.  At  12.45  o'clock  smoke  was 
seen  coming  from  a  nondescript  vessel  running 
down  the  bay.  The  call  to  quarters  immediately 
sounded,  sails  were  furled,  wash  clothes  came 
down,  and  the  batteries  were  manned  in  readi- 
ness for  action. 

The  Merrimac  steamed  leisurely  down  past 
the  Congress,  at  a  distance  of  three  hundred 


The  "  Monitor"  and  "Merrimac"   233 

yards,  firing  her  bow  gun  at  the  frigate,  which 
disabled  every  man  but  one  at  one  of  her  guns, 
and  receiving  the  combined  broadsides  of  the 
Congress  and  Cumberland,  the  balls  of  which 
rattled  from  her  iron  sides  like  hail  from  a 
roof.  This  was  the  first  actual  test  of  the  de- 
fensive power  of  the  Confederate  vessel,  and 
nothing  could  have  been  more  satisfactory  to 
her  commander.  The  Merrimac,  scatheless  after 
this  terrific  fire,  now  moved  slowly  across  the 
bows  of  the  Cumberland,  manoeuvring  for  a  po- 
sition to  ram,  meanwhile  keeping  up  the  fire  of 
her  forward  guns  upon  the  doomed  ship.  One 
shot  passed  through  the  starboard  hammock 
netting,  killing  and  wounding  nine  marines  at 
an  after  gun,  and  for  some  time  the  ironclad 
monster,  from  a  distance  of  about  three  hundred 
yards  on  the  starboard  bow,  continued  to  rake 
the  unfortunate  Cumberland  with  every  shot. 

This  carnage  continued  for  some  time,  not  a 
man  flinching  from  his  post;  the  dead  were 
carried  over  on  the  other  side  of  the  deck  and 
their  places  were  quietly  taken  by  others,  each 
man  loading  and  firing  as  fast  as  the  guns  could 
be  worked.  After  about  fifteen  minutes  the 
Merrimac  backed,  then  headed  for  the  Cum- 
berland at  full  speed,  striking  her  on  the  star- 
board bow,  knocking  two  of  her  ports  into  one 
and  driving  her  ram  deep  into  the  ship,  below 
the  water-line.  Planks,  beams,  and  knees  gave 
way  like  laths  before  this  blow,  leaving  a  ragged 


234  The  American  Navy 

opening  into  which  a  man  might  have  passed, 
and  through  which  a  torrent  of  water  poured  into 
the  hold.  Following  the  blow  the  Nerrimac, 
wTith  some  considerable  difficulty,  backed  out, 
having  lost  her  ram,  swung  around  broadside 
to  the  Cumberland  and  Captain  Buchanan 
hailed,  "  Will  you  surrender?  " 

"  Never,"  replied  Morris ;  "  I  '11  sink  alongside 
of  you  first." 

At  this  the  ironclad  reopened  her  fire.  The 
first  shot  passed  through  the  sick  bay,  killing 
five  men,  and  the  broadsides  continued  without 
cessation,  each  shot  reaching  a  vital  part.  Sick 
bay,  berth-deck,  and  gun-deck  were  soon  covered 
with  dead  and  wounded,  while  for  half  an  hour 
the  pumps  of  the  Cumberland  were  constantly 
worked,  in  the  vain  hope  of  throwing  out  the 
water  as  fast  as  it  rushed  in  through  the  yawn- 
ing chasm  in  her  bow.  The  forward  magazine 
was  soon  flooded,  leaving  the  after  magazine  as 
the  only  supply  for  keeping  up  a  defence.  In 
thirty-five  minutes  the  water  had  risen  to  the 
main  hatchway  and  the  ship  keeled  over,  nearly 
ready  to  sink.  The  wounded  on  board  were  then 
removed  from  the  cockpit  to  the  upper  deck.  All 
this  time  the  Cumberland  kept  up  her  fire,  no 
gun  being  abandoned  until  the  water,  creeping 
up  toward  the  stern  from  the  sinking  bow, 
drowned  the  gun's  crews  out.  And  during  all 
this  time  but  one  man  was  seen  on  board  the 
ironclad.  Near  the  close  of  the  fight  he  showed 


The  "  Monitor"  and  "Merrimac"  235 

himself  from  a  port,  when  a  shot  from  the 
sinking  ship  cut  him  in  two. 

By  this  time  the  Cumberland's  deck  was  cov- 
ered with  dead  and  wounded  and  slippery  with 
blood,  some  of  the  guns  were  run  in,  as  they 
had  last  been  fired,  many  of  them  bespattered 
with  blood,  broken  rammers  and  blackened 
sponges  lay  about  in  all  directions.  Still  the 
survivors  fought  on,  each  man  anxious  for  "  one 
more  shot."  At  last  the  order  was  given  for 
every  man  to  look  out  for  himself.  Even  then, 
as  the  waters  closed  over  the  Cumberland,  the 
last  gun  was  heard.  It  was  fired,  half  under 
water,  by  Matthew  Tenney,  from  a  gun  just 
awash.  The  gallant  fellow  attempted  to  scramble 
out  of  the  open  porthole  abreast  of  him,  but  the 
water  rushing  in  swept  him  back  and  he  went 
down  in  the  sinking  vessel,  in  fifty-four  feet  of 
water.  The  survivors  of  the  crew  succeeded  in 
swimming  ashore. 

The  Merrimac  now  steamed  toward  the  Con- 
gress and,  taking  position  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  astern  of  the  frigate,  raked  her  fore  and 
aft  with  shell,  the  fuses  cut  short,  so  that  each 
one  exploded  inside  the  ship.  The  first  shot 
killed  seventeen  men  at  a  single  gun  and  during 
all  the  engagement  hardly  a  man  was  merely 
wounded;  most  were  killed  outright,  the  head 
or  shoulder  being  shorn  off,  or  the  body  cut  in 
twain.  Surgical  aid  was  useless,  and,  after  the 
first  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  the  surgeon  did 


236  The  American  Navy 

not  even  pretend  to  amputate  a  limb.  The  most 
he  could  do  was  to  apply  a  tourniquet  to  stop 
bleeding  and  administer  stimulants  to  prevent 
prostration.  "  The  only  insignificant  wound 
which  I  dressed,"  he  said,  "  was  that  of  a  man 
who  had  his  hand  taken  off !  "  1 

The  Congress,  being  fast  aground,  could  meet 
the  terrible  broadsides  of  the  Merrimac  only 
from  her  two  stern  guns.  These  were  soon  dis- 
abled, one  being  dismounted,  while  the  other 
had  its  muzzle  shot  off.  Lieutenant  Smith,  in 
temporary  charge,  being  killed,  the  command  de- 
volved upon  Lieutenant  Prendergast,  who,  at  4 
P.MV  finding  that  not  a  gun  could  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  his  antagonist,  and  that  his  ship  was 
disabled  and  on  fire  in  several  places,  while  the 
Minnesota  and  Roanolte,  three  miles  distant, 
were  fast  aground,  reluctantly  ordered  the  colors 
of  the  Congress  hauled  down  and  surrendered  to 
Lieutenant  Parker  of  the  Merrimac.  The  iron- 
clad's tenders  took  about  thirty  prisoners  from 
the  Congress,  but  the  shore  batteries,  keeping  up 
their  fire,  drove  the  Confederates  off  and  the 
remainder  of  the  crew  swam  on  shore  before  the 
Congress  blew  up.  When  the  veteran  Com- 
modore Joseph  Smith,  on  "  Black  Sunday "  in 
Washington,  heard  that  the  Congress  had  sur- 

1  About  this  time  Captain  Buchanan  of  the  Merrimac 
was  wounded  by  a  rifle-ball  and  had  to  be  carried  below 
and  the  command  of  the  Confederate  ram  devolved  upon 
Lieutenant  Catesby  A.  P.  R.  Jones,  her  executive  officer. 


The  "  Monitor"  and  "Merrimac''  237 

rendered,  his  first  words  were :  "  Then  Joe  's 
dead.  He  '11  never  surrender  his  ship."  It  was 
so:  his  son  died  early  in  the  action,  struck  in 
the  chest  by  a  shell  fragment. 

The  low  tide  prevented  the  Merrimac  from 
getting  within  range  of  the  Minnesota  and  the 
other  vessels  of  the  Federal  fleet,  so  at  seven 
o'clock  she  withdrew  to  Sewall's  Point,  her  com- 
mander evidently  satisfied  with  the  results  thus 
far  accomplished. 

In  the  whole  history  of  the  American  navy 
there  had  been  no  such  record  of  disaster  or 
of  sacrifice  for  the  honor  of  the  flag  as  was 
shown  in  this  sad  day's  work — a  frigate  and 
a  sloop-of-war  destroyed,  with  a  loss  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  officers  and  men  killed,  drowned, 
and  wounded,  while  three  other  frigates  were 
huddled  aground  under  the  guns  of  Fortress 
Monroe  to  avert  destruction.  And  all  this  ac- 
complished in  an  afternoon  by  a  single  vessel 
with  but  two  of  her  men  killed  and  eight 
wounded!  The  dread  news  of  the  combat  was 
telegraphed  all  over  the  Northern  States  that 
Saturday  night,  and  the  most  gloomy  appre- 
hension of  what  might  occur  the  next  day 
prevailed. 

But  the  tables  were  soon  to  be  turned.  About 
nine  o'clock  that  night  Ericsson's  Monitor,  af- 
ter a  stormy  passage  from  New  York,  entered 
Hampton  Roads  and  anchored.  A  new  and 
as  yet  untried  antagonist  had  appeared  upon 


238  The  American  Navy 

the  scene,  whose  powers  were  yet  to  be  tested. 

Seen  at  a  distance  she  appeared  an  insig- 
nificant and  far  from  a  formidable  craft.  Lying 
low  in  the  water,  she  might  have  been  taken 
for  a  raft,  having  nothing  above  board  but  a 
round  turret  amidships,  a  small  pilot-house  for- 
ward, and  a  diminutive  funnel  aft.  But  it  was 
on  board  that  her  real  strength  was  shown.  Her 
armor  was  five  inches  thick  and  she  had  prac- 
tically two  hulls,  the  lower  having  sides  inclin- 
ing at  an  angle  of  fifty-one  degrees  from  the 
vertical  line.  The  turret,  revolved  by  steam 
power,  was  an  iron  cylinder  nine  feet  high, 
twenty  feet  in  diameter,  eight  or  nine  inches 
thick  and  about  the  portholes  eleven  inches  in 
thickness.  The  armament  was  two  eleven-inch 
Dahlgren  guns,  which  ran  in  for  loading.  Her 
propeller  was  hidden  beneath  a  hood. 

As  soon  as  Lieutenant  Worden  anchored  and 
heard  the  news  of  the  disastrous  conflict  that 
had  occurred  that  day,  he  began  active  prepara- 
tions for  battle ;  the  ship  was  cleared  for  action, 
and  by  the  light  of  the  burning  Congress  the 
Monitor  steamed  up  the  bay  and  reported  to 
Captain  Marston  of  the  Roanoke.  Marston  had 
received  orders  to  send  the  Monitor  to  Wash- 
ington, but,  in  view  of  the  present  exigency,  he 
wisely  disregarded  these  orders  and  directed 
Worden  to  anchor  close  to  the  Minnesota,  which 
was  still  aground,  and  to  be  prepared  to  protect 
her. 


The  "Monitor"  and  "Merrimac"  239 

The  already  almost  exhausted  officers  of  the 
Monitor  worked  all  that  night  in  making  ready 
for  the  morrow's  fight,  but  when  at  eight  o'clock 
on  Sunday  morning  the  Merrimac  was  seen 
steaming  down  toward  the  Minnesota  to  finish 
her  uncompleted  work,  they  cheerfully  went 
to  quarters,  eager  for  the  fray  and  very  con- 
fident of  victory. 

Never  were  antagonists  apparently  so  un- 
equally matched.  The  Monitor  was  only  one 
fifth  the  size  of  her  antagonist  and  appeared 
even  smaller,  for  she  presented  to  sight  nothing 
but  her  flat  deck,  just  above  the  water,  and  her 
low,  square  pilot-house  and  circular  turret. 

As  the  Merrimac  came  within  range,  heading 
for  the  Minnesota,  Captain  Van  Brunt  opened 
upon  the  ironclad  with  all  his  broadside  guns 
and  the  ten-inch  pivot-gun,  "  a  broadside,"  as  he 
said,  "  which  would  have  blown  out  of  the  water 
any  timber-built  ship  in  the  world,"  but  it  was 
absolutely  ineffectual.  In  return  the  Merrimac 
fired  one  of  her  terrible  seven-inch  shells,  which 
went  crashing  through  the  Minnesota  amid- 
ships, tearing  four  rooms  into  one  on  the 
berth-deck,  and  starting  a  fire.  The  Monitor, 
meanwhile,  steamed  out  and  challenged  the 
Confederate  ram  to  combat. 

The  Merrimac  opened  upon  her  new  antagonist 
at  once  with  all  her  guns,  the  shots  flying  over 
the  low  deck.  A  few  struck  the  turret;  but  all, 
except  one,  glanced  off,  leaving  hardly  a  mark. 


240  The  American  Navy 

One  one-hundred-pound  rifle  bolt  struck  fair  and 
square,  penetrating  half  through  the  nine  inches 
of  iron  and  breaking  off,  leaving  the  head  stick- 
ing in  the  wound. 

The  speed  of  the  two  vessels  was  about  equal, 
but  the  Monitor's  light  draught  gave  her  an  ad- 
vantage in  choosing  her  fighting  ground.  Once 
the  Merrimac  grounded  and  the  Monitor  steamed 
round  and  round  her  foe  trying  bow,  stern,  and 
sides  in  search  of  a  vulnerable  point.  Her  shots, 
however,  even  at  point  blank,  in  striking  the 
sloping  sides  of  the  Merrimac  glanced  off 
harmlessly. 

The  Confederate  vessel,  getting  afloat  again, 
and  finding  her  antagonist  invulnerable,  now 
turned  her  attention  to  the  Minnesota  and  bore 
down  upon  the  frigate,  head  on,  receiving  the 
full  broadside  of  fifty  solid  shot  without  any 
damage,  but  replying  with  a  single  shell  from 
her  rifled  bow-gun,  which  went  through  the 
boiler  of  the  tug  Dragon,  which  lay  alongside 
the  Minnesota,  blowing  her  up  and  killing  and 
wounding  seven  men. 

The  Monitor  now  interposed,  compelling  the 
Merrimac  to  shift  her  position,  and  she  steamed 
down  the  bay  toward  deeper  water,  closely  fol- 
lowed by  the  Monitor.  Reaching  the  desired 
position,  she  turned  sharp  around,  and  ran  at 
full  speed  against  her  little  antagonist,  but  the 
iron  prow,  which  had  crashed  through  the  stout 
frame  of  the  Cumberland,  left  scarcely  a  mark 


The  "Monitor"  and  "Merrimac"  241 

on  the  armored  side  of  the  Monitor,  upon  whose 
turret  and  pilot-house  she  now  unavailingly 
concentrated  her  fire. 

The  crucial  moment  for  the  anxious  observers 
of  this  mighty  duel  from  the  decks  of  the  Min- 
nesota came  when,  at  4.45  P.M.,  the  Merrimac 
was  seen  to  turn  and,  accompanied  by  her  ten- 
ders, the  Patrick  Henry  and  Jamestown,  head 
up  the  bay  apparently  for  the  Minnesota.  It 
was,  therefore,  a  great  and  unexpected  relief 
when  it  wras  found  that  the  Confederate  ves- 
sels had  no  intention  of  continuing  the  fight, 
but  were  making  for  their  refuge  at  Craney 
Island. 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  memorable  fight  of  the 
Monitor  and  Merrimac,  which,  if  estimated  solely 
by  the  actual  loss  inflicted  or  suffered  by  the 
combatants  in  the  first  contest  between  iron- 
clads, would  be  described  as  a  harmless  duel. 
No  man  on  board  the  Merrimac,  it  was  affirmed, 
was  injured  by  the  heavy  shot  of  the  Monitor 
or  the  terrific  broadsides  of  the  Minnesota.  On 
the  Federal  side  Lieutenant  Worden  was  look- 
ing from  a  narrow  loop-hole  in  the  turret,  when 
at  11.30  a  shot  from  the  Merrimac  struck  square 
against  the  pilot-house  and  fragments  of  cement 
were  driven  into  his  face,  blinding  him  and 
forcing  him  to  give  up  the  command  to  Lieu- 
tenant Green.  Other  than  Worden  no  man  was 
seriously  harmed  on  board  the  Monitor. 

The  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac,  exposed  to 

16 


242  The  American  Navy 

this  terrible  ordeal,  both  proved  themselves 
invulnerable  against  any  fire  which  had  ever 
before  been  brought  to  bear  by  one  ship  against 
another.  The  conclusion  was  inevitable  that 
wooden  ships  were  to  be  of  no  further  use  in 
naval  warfare  and  that  the  great  navies  of 
the  world  had  been  practically  annihilated. 

The  Monitor  and  Merrimac  never  again  tried 
their  strength  against  each  other.  For  a  month 
they  lay,  one  in  the  lower  roads,  the  other  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Elizabeth  Kiver;  the  Monitor 
occasionally  going  up  toward  the  river  for  ob- 
servation, but  always  drawing  back  when  her 
enemy  appeared. 

The  two  governments  recognized  that  it  would 
be  unwise  to  risk  losing  their  main  defence.  If 
the  Merrimac  was  taken  the  water  approach  to 
Richmond  would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Federals. 
If  the  Monitor  was  disabled  Hampton  Koads 
would  be  in  the  power  of  the  Confederates.  All 
the  movements  of  the  rival  ironclads  were  there- 
fore feints,  with  no  definite  object.  It  was  a 
relief,  then,  when  on  the  llth  of  May  Com- 
mander Tatnall,  then  in  command  of  the  Merri- 
mac,  learning  of  the  abandonment  of  Norfolk 
by  the  Confederate  authorities,  ran  the  ram 
ashore  and  set  her  on  fire,  fore  and  aft;  after 
burning  fiercely  for  an  hour  she  blew  up.  So 
entire  was  the  destruction  of  the  noted  vessel 
that  no  fragment  was  ever  discovered  of  sufficient 
size  to  enable  any  one  to  describe  the  details 


The  "  Monitor"  and  "Merrimac"   243 

of  her  construction.  The  Merrimac,  said  Tat- 
nall,  in  his  report,  "  no  longer  exists." 

On  December  29,  1862,  while  in  tow  of  the 
steamer  Rhode  Island,  the  Monitor  sank  off  Cape 
Hatteras  in  a  very  heavy  gale.  The  boats  from 
the  Rhode  Island  succeeded  in  taking  off  most 
of  her  officers  and  men,  Commander  Bankhead 
being  the  last  man  to  leave  the  sinking  ship. 
The  last  seen  of  the  Monitor  was  at  midnight 
when  she  drifted  away,  the  red  light  gleaming 
from  her  turret.  She  must  have  gone  down  a 
few  minutes  after,  carrying  with  her  twelve  of 
the  sixty-five  men  on  board.  The  Monitor  was 
lost  just  eleven  months  from  the  day  she  was 
launched. 

Mr.  Thomas  Dudley,  who  at  the  time  of  the 
battle  between  the  Monitor  and  Merrimac  was 
United  States  consul  at  Liverpool,  expressed 
the  following  deliberate  opinion :  "  This  fight 
between  these  two  ships  did  more  to  preserve 
the  peace  between  England  and  the  United 
States  than  any  other  event  that  took  place 
during  the  war."  The  Count  of  Paris,  in  his 
History  of  the  War,  refers  to  the  action  as  "  the 
naval  combat  which  marks  the  greatest  and  most 
sudden  of  all  revolutions  that  have  been  effected 
in  the  science  of  maritime  warfare."  Admiral 
Columb,  an  officer  of  the  English  navy  who  has 
given  much  time  and  study  to  the  subject  of 
naval  warfare,  declared  that  "  in  the  American 
Civil  War  the  deciding  battle  was  that  fought 


244  The  American  Navy 

between  the  Monitor  and  the  Herrimac,  and  no 
one  can  doubt,"  he  adds,  "  that  if  the  Merrimac 
had  gained  the  victory  there  would  scarcely 
now  be  the  United  States  of  America.  The 
fate  of  that  nation  was  determined  then  and 
there." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  BY  FARRAGUT 

AFTER  the  series  of  unfortunate  events  that 
marked  the  campaigns  in  Virginia  in  the 
summer  of  1861,  the  National  Administration, 
fully  aware  that  the  loyal  North  required  sub- 
stantial victories,  raised  large  armies  and  vastly 
increased  the  naval  establishment.  On  the  upper 
Mississippi  a  flotilla  was  speedily  organized,  un- 
der the  able  direction  of  Flag  Officer  A.  H. 
Foote,  who  soon  gained  decisive  victories  in 
co-operation  with  the  army,  under  Brigadier 
General  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  at  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson. 

But  the  authorities  justly  felt  that  the  cap- 
ture of  New  Orleans  was  the  most  important 
step  toward  opening  up  the  Mississippi  River, 
which,  from  above  Memphis  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  was  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Con- 
federates. It  has  been  said,  on  good  authority, 
that  in  selecting  an  officer  to  command  the  pro- 
posed expedition  against  New  Orleans,  the 
qualifications  of  various  officers  were  secretly 
discussed  at  Washington  and  the  choice  grad- 
ually dwindled  clown  to  three.  Secretary  Welles 
claimed  the  credit  of  selecting  Farragut,  and 

245 


246  The  American  Navy 

Commander  Porter  was  sent,  as  a  friendly  in- 
termediary, to  ascertain  whether  the  service 
would  be  agreeable  to  him. 

The  result  was  that  Farragut  was  ordered  to 
report  in  person  at  Washington  and  he  obeyed 
the  summons  with  alacrity.  Among  his  papers 
a  brief  note  to  his  wife,  dated  December  21,  1861, 
appears,  which  reads: 

Keep  your  lips  closed  and  burn  my  letters;  for 
perfect  silence  is  to  be  observed — the  first  injunc- 
tion of  the  Secretary.  I  am  to  have  a  Flag  in  the 
Gulf  and  the  rest  depends  upon  myself.  Keep 
calm  and  silent.  I  shall  sail  in  three  weeks. 

On  February  2,  1862,  Farragut  sailed  from 
Hampton  Roads  in  the  steam-sloop  Hartford, 
which  was  destined  to  be  his  home  for  the  re- 
mainder of  the  war  and  to  bear  him  safely 
through  severe  trials  and  dangers  to  the  termi- 
nation of  the  great  struggle.  General  Ben- 
jamin F.  Butler,  commanding  the  military 
force  designed  to  co-operate  with  Farragut's 
fleet,  sailed  from  Hampton  Roads,  on  February 
20th,  with  fifteen  thousand  men,  in  transports, 
arriving  at  Ship  Island,  the  rendezvous  of  the 
expedition,  March  20th. 

At  a  point  about  thirty  miles  above  the  head 
of  the  Passes  of  the  Mississippi  River,  the  low- 
est favorable  locality  for  defence  before  reach- 
ing the  Gulf,  the  United  States  Government  had 
erected  two  forts,  St.  Philip  on  the  left  or  north 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      247 

bank,  and  Jackson  a  little  farther  down  stream 
on  the  right.  In  1815  a  single  fort  at  this  point 
had  held  the  British  fleet  in  check  for  nine  days, 
though  they  threw  into  it  more  than  a  thousand 
shells.  But  in  the  present  defences  Fort  Jack- 
son, with  its  water  battery,  mounted  seventy-five 
guns  and  St.  Philip  about  forty.  These  guns  in- 
cluded columbiads,  mortars,  and  rifled  pieces,  but 
were  mostly  smooth-bore  thirty-two-pounders. 
The  works  were  garrisoned  by  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred men,  commanded  by  Brigadier  General 
J.  K.  Duncan.  Just  above  the  fort  lay  a  Con- 
federate fleet  of  fifteen  vessels,  including  the 
ironclad  ram  Manassas  and  the  Louisiana,  an  im- 
mense floating  battery  covered  with  railroad 
iron.  Just  below  Fort  Jackson  a  chain  was 
stretched  across  the  river,  supported  at  intervals 
by  small  dismasted  vessels.  A  company  of 
sharpshooters  ranged  up  and  down  both  banks 
to  give  the  forts  intelligence  of  the  movements 
of  our  fleet. 

To  accomplish  his  task  of  breaking  through 
the  obstructions,  passing  through  between  the 
forts,  and  conquering  the  Confederate  fleet, 
Farragut  had  six  sloops-of-war,  sixteen  gun- 
boats, a  mortar  flotilla  of  twenty-one  schooners, 
each  carrying  a  thirteen-inch  mortar,  and  five 
other  auxiliary  vessels.  The  fleet  carried  over 
two  hundred  guns  and  was  by  far  the  most 
powerful  naval  expedition  that  had,  up  to  that 
time,  ever  sailed  under  our  flag.  General  Butler 


248  The  American  Navy 

had,  as  said,  on  board  his  transports  fifteen 
thousand  men  to  hold  whatever  Farragut  might 
capture. 

The  mortar  fleet,  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  Commander  Porter,  was  lined  upon  the 
right  side  of  the  river,  close  to  the  banks,  their 
mastheads  concealed  by  green  boughs.  On  the 
18th  of  April  they  opened  fire,  throwing  shells 
weighing  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  pounds 
into  Fort  Jackson,  on  which  their  fire  was  con- 
centrated. For  six  days  and  nights  this  fire 
was  kept  up  unremittingly,  throwing  nearly  six 
thousand  shells,  but  the  main  result,  which 
Commander  Porter  had  anticipated,  the  break- 
ing in  of  the  casemates  and  dismounting  the 
guns  of  the  fort,  was  not  accomplished. 

During  these  six  days  Farragut's  patience  was 
sorely  tried.  He  never  had  much  faith  in  the 
mortars,  and  now  he  determined  to  try  his  own 
method.  He  had  already  issued  general  orders 
to  his  commanders  to  prepare  their  ships  in 
every  way  possible  for  the  supreme  test  of  run- 
ning the  batteries,  and  he  now  issued  the  final 
orders,  giving  the  programs  of  sailing  for  the 
different  ships. 

On  the  night  of  April  21st,  Lieutenant  C.  H. 
B.  Caldwell  was  sent  up  in  the  Itasca,  accom- 
panied by  the  Pinola,  Lieutenant  Crosby,  under 
command  of  Commander  H.  H.  Bell,  to  cut  the 
chain  which  was  stretched  across  the  river.  The 
Pinola  had  the  inventor  of  a  new  submarine 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      249 

petard  on  board,  which  he  placed  under  one  of 
the  hulks,  but  in  endeavoring  to  explode  it  the 
wire  broke  and  it  was  useless.  Lieutenant  Cald- 
well  then  coolly  boarded  one  of  the  hulks  and, 
knocking  out  the  pin,  unshackled  the  chain,  let 
it  slip,  and  the  passage  was  opened.  This  bold 
feat  was  performed  under  a  very  heavy  fire  from 
the  first,  but  fortunately  no  one  was  injured. 

Farragut  had  intended  to  lead  the  column  of 
ships  in  the  Hartford  in  passing  the  forts,  but 
in  the  final  disposition  he  gave  up  that  post  to 
Captain  Theodorus  Bailey,  at  his  own  earnest 
request,  who  hoisted  his  own  red  flag  on  the 
gunboat  Cayuga.  The  order  of  sailing  was  to 
be  as  follows :  first  division — Cayuga,  Pensacola, 
Mississippi,  Oneida,  Varuna,  Kathadin,  Kineo, 
Wissahickon;  centre  division — Hartford,  Brook- 
lyn, Richmond;  third  division — Sciota,  Iroquois, 
Kennebec,  Pinola,  Itasca,  Winona.  As  early  as 
April  6th  Farragut  had  reconnoitred  the  forts 
in  broad  daylight,  going  up  within  gunshot  of 
Jackson  in  the  Kennebec,  where  he  sat  in  the 
cross-trees,  glass  in  hand,  till  the  Confederate 
gunners  began  to  get  the  range  of  his  ship.  The 
attempt  to  pass  the  forts,  it  was  finally  decided, 
should  be  made  in  the  night  of  April  23d  to 
24th,  and,  as  the  moon  would  rise  about  half-past 
three  in  the  morning,  the  fleet  was  warned  to 
expect  the  signal  for  sailing  about  two  o'clock. 
On  the  23d  the  forts  hardly  fired  a  shot  all 
day,  although  Porter  kept  up  a  terrific  bombard- 


250  The  American  Navy 

ment  from  the  mortar  fleet.  Soon  after  mid- 
night the  hammocks  were  brought  up  and  stowed 
in  the  nettings  and  the  work  of  clearing  the 
ships  for  action  began.  At  five  minutes  before 
two  the  silent  signal  to  weigh  anchor — two  ordi- 
nary red  lights  at  the  peak  of  the  flagship — was 
displayed,  but  it  was  half-past  three  before  all 
the  ships  were  aweigh. 

The  Confederates  had  now  become  aware  that 
a  movement  was  in  progress,  and  blazing  rafts 
and  bonfires  illuminated  the  scene  as  Porter's 
gunboats  and  the  Portsmouth  moved  up  stream 
to  engage  the  batteries  in  advance  of  the 
fleet.  Captain  Bailey's  division  of  eight  ves- 
sels led  off,  passing  through  the  opening  made 
in  the  cable  the  night  before,  and  both  forts 
promptly  opened  on  the  Cayuga  as  she  passed 
the  hulks.  In  five  minutes  she  was  pour- 
ing grape  and  cannister  into  St.  Philip,  and 
in  ten  minutes  she  had  passed  out  of  range 
of  that  work  and  found  herself  surrounded  by 
eleven  Confederate  gunboats.  Three  of  these 
attempted  to  board  her  at  once,  but  an  eleven- 
inch  shot,  at  close  range,  was  sent  through  one 
of  them  and  the  disabled  vessel  immediately  ran 
aground  and  burned  up.  The  Parrott  rifle  on 
the  forecastle  drove  off  another  vessel,  and 
Bailey  was  preparing  to  close  with  a  third, 
when  the  Oneida  and  Varuna  came  up  to  the 
assistance  of  the  Cayuga.  The  Oneida,  un- 
der a  full  head  of  steam,  ran  into  one  of  the 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      251 

enemy's  boats,  cutting  her  nearly  in  two, 
and  left  her  to  float  down  stream  a  help- 
less wreck.  Firing  right  and  left  into  the 
others,  the  Oneida  then  went  to  the  assistance 
of  the  Varuna,  which  was  ashore  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  sore  beset  by  the  Governor 
Moore  and  another  Confederate  steamer.  The 
Varuna,  rammed  by  them  both,  sank  in  fifteen 
minutes,  but  not  until  she  had  so  crippled  the 
Governor  Moore  that  she  surrendered  to  the 
Oneida. 

The  Pensacola  steamed  steadily  and  slowly 
by  the  forts,  using  her  eleven-inch  pivot  gun  and 
rifled  eighty-pounder  with  deadly  effect,  and  re- 
ceiving a  terrific  fire  in  return,  as  her  loss  of 
thirty-seven  men  fully  indicated.  The  Missis- 
sippi was  more  fortunate  and  escaped  with 
small  loss.  After  passing  Jackson,  she  en- 
countered the  ram  Manassas.  In  a  brief  en- 
counter she  disabled  her  adversary  and,  after 
riddling  her  with  solid  shot,  boarded  the  vessel, 
set  her  on  fire,  and  sent  her  drifting  down  the 
river,  where  she  blew  up.  The  smaller  gun- 
boats of  Bailey's  division  passed  the  forts 
without  serious  damage  or  loss  of  life. 

At  4.30  A.M.  the  Hartford,  in  attempting  to 
avoid  a  fire-raft,  grounded  on  a  shoal  near  St. 
Philip.  At  the  same  time  the  ram  Manassas 
pushed  a  fire-raft  up  under  her  port  quarter  and, 
in  an  instant,  the  flagship  was  on  fire.  A  part 
of  her  crew  immediately  went  to  fire  quarters 


252  The  American  Navy 

and  subdued  the  flames,  while  the  working  of 
her  guns  was  steadily  continued  and  the  ship 
was  backed  off  into  deeper  water,  her  head 
turning  down  stream.  With  some  difficulty  the 
Hartford  was  again  turned  against  the  current 
and  she  continued  on  up  the  river,  firing 
broadsides  into  the  enemy's  vessels,  as  they  ap- 
peared, and  into  Fort  Jackson,  as  it  came  into 
range.  The  Brooklyn  ran  over  one  of  the  hulks, 
and,  becoming  entangled  in  the  raft,  suffered  a 
raking  fire  from  Jackson.  She  was  also  butted 
by  the  Manassas,  which  seemed  ubiquitous  that 
morning,  and  was  finally  engaged  by  the  Con- 
federate steamer  Warrior.  This  was  an  un- 
fortunate encounter  for  the  enemy,  for  the 
Brooklyn  planted  eleven  five-second  shells  in 
her  antagonist,  all  of  which  exploded,  setting 
the  vessel  on  fire,  and  she  was  run  ashore.  The 
Richmond,  a  slow  ship,  steamed  steadily  along, 
giving  and  receiving  a  steady  succession  of 
broadsides  from  forts  and  ships  and  preserving 
her  place  in  line  until  the  forts  were  passed 
and  the  signal  was  made  from  the  flagship: 
"  Anchor  and  go  to  breakfast."  The  third  divi- 
sion of  gunboats  did  excellent  work  in  passing 
the  forts,  but  the  Itasca,  receiving  a  shot  in  her 
boiler  in  front  of  Jackson,  was  compelled  to 
turn  down  stream;  the  Kennebec  became  en- 
tangled in  the  raft  and  was  delayed  until  too 
late  to  pass  the  forts,  and  the  Winona  was  also 
forced  to  return,  being  delayed  by  the  rafts. 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      2  53 

And  so  the  victory  was  won  and  a  feat  was 
accomplished  thus  far  unparalleled  in  naval 
warfare.  Starting  with  seventeen  wooden  ves- 
sels, Farragut  had  passed  with  all  but  three  of 
them,  against  the  swift  current  of  a  river  but 
half  a  mile  wide,  between  two  powerful  forts 
and  a  formidable  water  battery  garrisoned  by 
fifteen  hundred  men,  his  course  impeded  by 
blazing  fire-rafts,  and  by  a  fleet  of  fifteen  ves- 
sels, two  of  them  ironclad.  He  had  captured  or 
destroyed  all  of  the  opponents,  and  had  accom- 
plished all  this  with  the  loss  of  but  one  of  his 
smaller  gunboats.  The  total  loss  of  life  in  the 
fleet  in  this  great  battle  was  thirty-seven  killed 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  wounded. 

Farragut  at  once  pushed  on  up  the  river,  to 
the  Quarantine  ground,  where  the  fleet  anchored, 
meanwhile  sending  Captain  Boggs,  of  the  ill- 
fated  Varuna,  in  a  boat  through  the  bayous  in 
the  rear  of  St.  Philip  down  the  river  to  com- 
municate with  General  Butler  and  Commander 
Porter  and  request  them  to  get  the  troops  up 
to  New  Orleans  as  speedily  as  possible. 

When  the  sun  rose  on  the  Federal  fleet  on 
the  morning  after  the  fight,  it  shone  on  smiling 
faces,  even  among  those  who  were  suffering  from 
their  wounds.  Farragut  received  the  ardent 
congratulations  of  his  commanding  officers,  who 
flocked  on  board  the  Hartford  in  response  to 
the  signal  from  the  flagship,  with  the  same  quiet 
imperturbability  that  he  had  exhibited  through 


254  The  American  Navy 

the  eventful  battle.  While  he  showed  deep  feel- 
ing for  the  men  of  his  fleet  who  had  been  killed 
or  wounded,  he  did  not  allow  time  to  be  wasted 
in  vain  regrets,  but  had  the  general  signal  made, 
"  After  breakfast  push  on  to  New  Orleans,"  so 
intent  were  his  thoughts  upon  following  up  his 
glorious  victory  to  the  end. 

The  present  writer,  then  a  young  division  and 
watch  officer  on  board  the  Richmond,  obtained 
permission  from  Captain  Alden  of  that  ship  to 
go  on  shore  at  the  Quarantine  station,  abreast 
of  which  our  ship  was  anchored,  and  haul  down 
a  large  Confederate  flag  that  was  insolently  dis- 
played from  a  tall  flagpole  at  the  camp.  Just 
as  my  armed  boat  was  shoving  off  from  the  ship 
Captain  Alden  hailed  me  and  said :  "  You  had 
better  first  stop  at  the  flagship  and  obtain  the 
flag  officer's  permission,  before  you  go  on  shore." 

Accordingly  I  steered  for  the  Hartford,  then 
anchored  on  our  port  bow,  and  was  shown  down 
into  the  cabin  just  as  Commander  Charles  S. 
Boggs  was  coming  up  from  his  interview  with 
the  flag  officer  in  which  he  had  given  him  the 
particulars  of  the  destruction  of  his  ship,  the 
Varuna,  by  the  Confederate  gunboats  the  night 
before.  Farragut  was  pacing  up  and  down  in 
his  cabin  with  a  very  thoughtful  face,  as  I  was 
shown  in.  His  face  brightened,  however,  as 
with  youthful  eagerness  I  delivered  my  message. 

"  Why,  certainly,  Mr.  H ,"  he  responded 

cheerfully,  "  go  ahead  and  pull  down  all  the 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      255 

rebel  flags  you  can  find,  and  then  make  my 
compliments  to  Captain  Alden,  give  him  my 
hearty  congratulations,  and  tell  him  to  be  all 
ready  to  get  under  way  to  go  up  the  river 
after  breakfast."  I  pulled  ashore  and  secured 
my  coveted  flag,  and  in  addition,  to  my  very 
great  surprise,  received  the  surrender  of  a  party 
of  officers  of  the  Louisiana  Home  Guards,  sta- 
tioned at  the  Quarantine,  who,  indeed,  seemed 
only  too  glad  to  thus  find  an  easy  and  honor- 
able termination  to  their  term  of  service.  Turn- 
ing the  bundle  of  officers'  swords,  which  I  found 
rather  an  impediment,  over  to  Captain  Broome, 
of  the  Marine  Corps,  who  came  on  shore  with 
a  detail  of  marines  a  little  later,  I  returned  to 
my  ship  with  my  Confederate  flag  still  in  my 
possession. 

The  fleet  steamed  up  the  river  during  the  day, 
greeted  from  time  to  time,  as  we  passed  the 
plantations,  by  groups  of  curious  negroes  on  the 
river  bank  who  stealthily  signalled  congratula- 
tions to  us.  The  planters'  houses  displayed  very 
conspicuously  from  their  porches  large  white 
sheets  or  table-cloths,  evidently  intended  as  flags 
of  truce.  At  dark  the  fleet  anchored,  but  soon 
after  midnight  a  great  blaze  of  light  being  seen 
up  the  river,  the  vessels  got  under  way,  fearing 
an  attack  by  fire-rafts,  of  which  we  had  had  so 
much  unpleasant  experience  before  passing  the 
forts,  but  they  did  not  materialize.  At  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning  a  large  steamer,  loaded 


256  The  American  Navy 

to  the  guards  with  cotton  and  all  ablaze,  came 
drifting  down  stream  and  an  hour  later  two 
other  boats  in  the  same  condition  passed. 

About  eleven  o'clock  we  sighted  Chalmette, 
four  miles  below  the  city,  where  we  had  been 
informed  heavy  batteries  had  been  placed  on 
both  banks,  and  having  in  mind  memories  of 
Jackson's  defence  of  the  city  from  this  point  in 
1814,  we  were  quite  prepared  for  some  warm 
work.  The  Brooklyn  was  in  the  advance  and 
at  the  first  shot  from  the  enemy  she  opened 
with  her  eighty-pound  Dahlgren  gun,  firing 
twenty-one  shells  into  the  battery  on  the  left 
bank  and  a  couple  of  broadsides  into  that  on 
the  right  bank,  which  was  supplemented  by  a 
few  shells  from  the  flagship,  upon  which  the 
enemy's  batteries,  such  as  they  were,  were 
evacuated. 

The  fleet  then  steamed  quietly  on  to  the  city, 
passing  close  to  the  levies,  which  were  swarm- 
ing with  a  howling  and  infuriated  mob  of  both 
sexes  waving  Confederate  flags  and  calling  out 
abusive  names  to  the  ships  as  they  passed.  Just 
as  the  vessels  arrived  abreast  of  the  Custom 
House,  and  anchored  in  a"  line  off  Canal  Street, 
a  torrent  of  rain  came  pouring  down  from  the 
heavens,  accompanied  by  rumbling  thunder  and 
vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  which  for  a  short  time 
somewhat  thinned  the  menacing  crowd.  As  we 
anchored,  burning  steamers,  barges,  and  vessels 
loaded  with  cotton  came  drifting  down,  blazing 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      257 

with  fire.  Among  them  was  the  very  formidable 
Confederate  ironclad  Mississippi,  just  fired  by 
order  of  General  Lovell,  to  prevent  her  from 
falling  into  our  hands.  The  sole  purpose  of  the 
mob  seemed  to  be  destruction,  and  thousands  of 
bales  of  cotton  and  hogsheads  of  sugar  on  the 
levee  were  given  to  the  flames  to  gratify  their 
insensate  wrath. 

The  story  of  the  subsequent  negotiations  for 
the  surrender  of  New  Orleans  reads  like  a  grim 
farce,  which  might  at  any  moment  have  been 
turned  into  a  tragedy;  for  all  the  time  they 
were  going  on,  the  furious  mob,  and  the  city 
which  sheltered  it,  lay  at  the  absolute  mercy  of 
the  guns  of  the  Union  fleet. 

Soon  after  noon  of  the  25th,  Farragut  de- 
spatched Captain  Theodorus  Bailey,  his  second 
in  command,  with  Lieutenant  George  H.  Per- 
kins, in  a  boat  bearing  a  message  to  the  chief 
authorities,  whoever  they  might  be,  demanding 
the  surrender  of  the  city.  The  two  officers 
stepped  ashore,  amidst  deafening  cheers  for  "Jeff 
Davis  and  the  South "  and  groans  for  "  Lin- 
coln and  the  Federal  fleet"  from  the  howling 
mob. 

Captain  Bailey,  who  was  perfectly  self- 
possessed  amidst  the  clamor,  ordered  the  boat 
to  lay  off  a  short  distance  from  the  leve"e,  where 
it  was  to  wait  his  return,  and  Lieutenant  Per- 
kins asked  from  one  of  the  most  respectable  of 
the  crowd  to  be  directed  to  the  City  Hall. 
17 


258  The  American  Navy 

After  some  delay  a  person  was  at  last  found 
who  consented  to  act  as  guide  and,  surrounded 
by  the  angry  mob,  the  two  officers  made  their 
way,  with  considerable  difficulty,  to  the  City 
Hall.  After  the  exchange  of  formal  salutations, 
Captain  Bailey  announced  to  the  mayor  that  he 
had  come  from  Flag  Officer  Farragut  to  demand 
the  surrender  of  the  city  and  the  hoisting  of 
the  American  flag  upon  the  public  buildings. 
Mayor  Munroe,  a  weak  man,  declared  that  he 
had  no  authority  to  surrender,  as  General  Lovell 
was  the  military  commander,  and  as  for  himself, 
he  declined  to  pull  down  the  Confederate  flag 
or  to  hoist  the  American  flag. 

After  some  little  time  passed  in  rather  acri- 
monious conversation,  General  Lovell  came  in 
and  he  was  introduced  by  the  mayor  to  Captain 
Bailey,  who  again  announced  his  errand.  Lovell, 
however,  declined  to  surrender  the  city:  he  said 
that  he  had  evacuated  New  Orleans  with  his 
troops ;  it  was  defenceless  and,  he  added,  "  Far- 
ragut could  shell  the  city  if  he  chose."  The 
general  thereupon  retired,  leaving  the  city  au- 
thorities to  take  such  course  as  they  thought 
proper.  The  result  of  the  interview  therefore 
was  that  Captain  Bailey  had  to  return  to  report 
to  Farragut  that  there  was  no  one  on  shore  will- 
ing to  surrender  the  city.  Colonel  W.  S.  Lovell 
and  one  or  two  other  of  the  Confederate  gen- 
eral's staff,  who  were  present  during  the  inter- 
view, very  courteously  escorted  the  Union  officers 


259 

to  the  landing,  followed  at  a  discreet  distance 
by  the  mob,  which  was  somewhat  restrained,  as 
they  neared  the  levee,  by  the  frowning  guns  of 
the  Pensacola,  that  with  ports  triced  up  had 
anchored  close  inshore,  near  the  foot  of  Canal 
Street,  and  whose  starboard  broadside  battery 
was  manned  ready  to  level  destruction  upon  the 
crowd  in  the  event  of  any  overt  act  being 
perpetrated. 

Farragut  was  both  amused  and  puzzled  by  the 
report  of  Captain  Bailey,  but  he  decided  to  wait 
one  day  for  further  developments.  The  next 
morning,  Saturday,  April  25th,  a  boat  came  off 
an  hour  after  daylight  with  a  message  from 
Mayor  Munroe.  The  bearers  were  his  private 
secretary,  Mr.  Marion  A.  Baker,  who  as  a  boy 
had  been  known  to  Farragut,  and  Mr.  McClel- 
land, chief  of  police.  The  purport  of  the  mis- 
sive was  a  notice  that  the  City  Council  would 
meet  at  ten  o'clock  that  day  and  that  the  Federal 
commander  should  at  once  be  apprised  of  the 
result  of  their  deliberations.  Farragut  replied 
by  the  same  messenger  that  he  had  come  to  re- 
duce New  Orleans  to  obedience  to  the  laws  of 
the  United  States.  The  city  must  be  sur- 
rendered, all  hostile  flags  must  be  hauled  down, 
and  that  of  the  United  States  must  be  hoisted 
on  all  public  buildings  by  noon;  there  must  be 
no  more  outrages  upon  loyal  people,  and  the 
rights  of  persons  and  property  must  be  secured. 

This  message  produced  no  tangible  results,  and 


s6o  The  American  Navy 

the  next  morning,  May  26th,  the  flag  officer  sent 
Lieutenant  Albert  Kautz,  with  Midshipman  John 
H.  Bead  and  a  guard  of  twenty  marines,  under 
command  of  Second  Lieutenant  George  Heisler, 
to  deliver  a  formal  demand  for  the  surrender  of 
the  city.  The  boat  landed  on  the  levee  in  front 
of  a  howling  mob,  more  violent  and  boisterous 
even  than  the  day  before,  which  thronged  the 
river  front  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  On 
landing,  Lieutenant  Kautz  had  the  marines  draw 
up  in  line  and  attempted  to  reason  with  the 
mob,  but  soon  found  it  an  impossible  task.  He 
then  thought  to  clear  the  way  by  bringing  the 
marines  to  an  aim,  but  women  and  children 
were  at  once  shoved  to  the  front,  while  the  angry 
crowd  behind  cried,  "  Shoot,  you  d — d  Yankees ; 
shoot!" 

Fortunately  at  this  moment  Lieutenant  Kautz 
espied  an  officer  of  the  City  Guards,  whom  he 
hailed  and  told  that  he  had  a  message  for  the 
mayor  which  he  wished  to  deliver.  The  Con- 
federate officer  begged  him  to  leave  the  marines 
on  the  Iev6e,  for  he  felt  sure  that  to  march  them 
through  the  streets  of  the  city  at  that  time 
would  provoke  a  conflict.  Kautz  prudently 
yielded  to  the  advice  of  the  officer  and  sent  the 
marines  back  to  the  ship,  retaining  only  one  non- 
commissioned officer  with  a  musket. 

Tying  his  handkerchief,  as  a  flag  of  truce,  on 
the  bayonet,  Lieutenant  Kautz,  with  Midship- 
man Bead  and  one  man,  then  took  up  their 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      261 

march  for  the  City  Hall,  accompanied  by  a 
crowd  jeering  and  "  cursing  in  three  languages," 
as  the  young  middy  who  accompanied  him  after- 
ward stated  to  his  comrades  at  the  mess-table. 

The  mayor,  through  his  counsel  Hon.  Pierre 
Soule,  again  declined  to  surrender  the  city 
formally,  but  the  learned  counsel  astutely  re- 
marked "  as  the  navy  had  the  force,  they  could 
of  course  take  possession."  Meanwhile  the 
crowd  outside  the  City  Hall  increased  in  num- 
bers, howled  and  stormed  and  was  gradually 
becoming  more  violent  and  difficult  to  restrain. 
Above  the  din  intermittent  cries  were  heard  in- 
viting "  the — Yankees  "  to  "  come  out  and  be 
run  up  to  lamp-posts ! "  At  this  juncture  Mr. 
Soule,  who  was  manifestly  growing  nervous, 
suggested  to  Lieutenant  Kautz  that  it  would 
save  trouble  to  all  concerned  if  he  would  take 
his  party  to  the  leve"e  in  a  carriage  from  the 
rear  exit  of  the  City  Hall.  It  was  proposed 
that  Mr.  Marion  Baker,  the  mayor's  secretary, 
should  go  with  the  officers  in  the  carriage  while 
Mr.  Soule  addressed  the  mob  from  the  front 
entrance.  He  did  not  hope  to  have  the  mob 
obey  him,  he  said,  but  he  believed  he  could  hold 
their  attention  with  his  fiery  eloquence  long 
enough  for  the  carriage  to  get  to  the  landing, 
by  the  back  streets,  unmolested. 

The  stratagem  succeeded  and  the  rapidly- 
driven  carriage  reached  the  leve"e  and  the  officers 
entered  their  waiting  boat  before  their  baffled 


262  The  American  Navy 

and  infuriated  pursuers  came  up  with  them. 
Few  persons  ever  knew  what  an  important 
service  Mr.  Soule  thus  rendered  to  New  Orleans. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  a  boat's 
crew  from  the  Pensacola  raised  a  flag  over  the 
Mint,  and  unwisely  left  it  without  a  guard  for 
its  protection.  On  the  following  day,  Sunday, 
27th,  while,  in  accordance  with  a  general  order 
from  Farragut,  the  ships  of  the  fleet  were  at 
divine  service  and  offering  up  "  thanks  to  Al- 
mighty God  for  deliverance  from  great  peril  in 
the  passage  of  the  forts,"  the  report  of  a  gun 
from  the  maintop  of  the  Pensacola,  anchored 
abreast  of  the  Mint,  startled  the  fleet,  and  at 
once  sent  the  crews  of  the  various  ships  to 
quarters.  The  gun  was  fired  in  consequence  of 
the  discovery  of  a  man  on  the  roof  of  the  Mint 
hauling  down  the  American  flag. 

All  eyes  were  at  once  turned  upon  the  flag- 
ship, in  anticipation  of  an  order  to  the  fleet  to 
open  fire,  but  no  notice  was  taken  by  Farragut 
of  the  incident,  quiet  was  speedily  restored  in 
the  ships,  and  the  service  proceeded. 

But  Farragut  had  now  evidently  determined 
to  adopt  sterner  measures  and  on  the  29th  he 
decided  that  the  time  had  come  for  him  to  take 
formal  possession  of  the  city.  He  accordingly 
sent  an  expedition  on  shore  under  command  of 
Fleet  Captain  H.  H.  Bell,  with  Lieutenant  Kautz 
as  second  in  command,  with  a  detachment  of 
sailors  and  two  boat  howitzers,  as  artillery,  as- 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      263 

sisted  by  Midshipmen  John  H.  Read  and  E.  C. 
Hazeltine.  A  battalion  of  marines,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  strong,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
John  L.  Broome,  was  added  to  the  force.  Land- 
ing at  the  foot  of  Canal  Street,  near  Lafayette 
Square,  the  marines  were  drawn  up  in  line  and 
the  brass  howitzers,  glittering  in  the  sunlight, 
were  loaded  with  shrapnel,  as  an  object-lesson 
to  the  crowd,  which,  no  longer  noisy,  now  looked 
on  silent  but  still  angry  and  threatening. 

The  line  of  march  was  then  taken  up  to  the 
Custom  House,  where  Captain  Bell,  Lieutenant 
Kautz,  and  a  boatswain's  mate  carrying  the 
American  ensign  entered  the  building.  The 
New  Orleans  postmaster,  who  was  present  as  an 
official,  received  the  officers  cordially,  saying: 
"  Thank  God  you  are  here.  I  have  been  a  Union 
man  all  the  time.  I  was  appointed  by  Buchanan, 
not  by  Jeff  Davis;  he  only  allowed  me  to  re- 
main." The  postmaster  then  showed  the  officers 
to  the  roof  of  the  building,  where  a  flagstaff 
was  found,  the  boatswain's  mate  bent  on  the 
flag  and  as  Captain  Bell  gave  the  order  "  Hoist 
away ! "  the  Stars  and  Stripes  arose  over  New 
Orleans. 

Captain  Alan  Ramsay,  U.  S.  M.  C.,  with  a 
detachment  of  marines  from  the  Richmond,  was 
left  to  guard  the  flag,  and  the  line  of  march 
was  taken  by  the  column  to  the  City  Hall.  Cap- 
tain Bell  there  entered  the  mayor's  room  and 
said :  "  Sir,  I  have  come  in  obedience  to  orders 


264  The  American  Navy 

to  haul  down  the  State  flag  from  this  building." 
The  mayor,  his  voice  trembling  with  emotion, 
replied  very  dramatically :  "  Very  well,  sir,  you 
can  do  it;  but  I  wish  to  say  that  there  is  not 
in  my  entire  constituency  so  wretched  a  rene- 
gade as  would  be  willing  to  exchange  places 
with  you." 

Captain  Bell  visibly  restrained  himself  from 
reply  to  this  very  offensive  speech  and  asked 
that  he  might  be  shown  the  way  to  the  roof. 
The  mayor  replied  by  referring  him  to  the 
janitor,  whom  he  would  find  outside,  and  the 
officers  left  the  room  and  found  their  way  to 
the  roof  where  the  State  flag  was  hauled  down 
from  the  flagstaff  by  Captain  Kautz  and  the 
boatswain's  mate,  the  great  crowd  in  the  street 
looking  on  in  sullen  silence.  No  flag  was  hoisted 
in  its  place  for  the  reason  that  the  City  Hall 
was  not  United  States  property.  Lieutenant 
John  C.  Harris,  U.  S.  M.  C.,  was  left  with  a 
guard  of  marines  to  occupy  the  building  and 
to  enforce  order.  This  guard  remained  in  occu- 
pancy until  May  1st,  when  the  troops  of  General 
Butler  occupied  the  city. 

As  one  of  the  officers  in  the  naval  contingent 
of  the  expedition  for  the  conquest  of  New 
Orleans,  the  present  writer  does  not  hesitate 
to  say  that  it  was  a  very  great  relief  to  the 
officers  of  the  fleet,  and,  I  think  I  may  venture 
to  say,  to  its  commander,  when  on  May  1st  the 
transport  Mississippi  arrived  at  the  Iev6e  and 


The  Capture  of  New  Orleans      265 

General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  with  his  contingent 
of  troops  occupied  the  city  and  at  once  pro- 
ceeded to  enforce  with  a  firm  hand  law  and 
order  in  the  heretofore  turbulent  city  of  New 
Orleans. 

At  noon  on  May  1st  the  Mississippi  lay  at 
the  levee  and  the  disembarkation  of  the  31st 
Massachusetts  and  the  4th  Wisconsin  regi- 
ments commenced.  When  all  were  landed 
and  the  regiments  formed,  the  general  and  his 
staff  marching  at  the  head  on  foot,  the  troops 
moved  steadily  on,  the  surging  masses  crowding 
the  sidewalks  hurrahing  for  "  Beauregard,  Bull 
Run,  and  Shiloh"  and  cursing  the  Yankees.  The 
Custom  House  reached,  the  troops  bivouacked 
for  the  night  in  an  upper  story.  Strong  guards 
were  posted  and  the  rage  of  the  mob  was  soon 
exhausted.  The  next  morning  General  Butler's 
proclamation  announced  to  the  citizens  that  New 
Orleans  was  again  under  the  flag  of  the  Union. 

The  mob  that  escorted  General  Butler  and  his 
troops  to  the  Custom  House  that  day  was  the 
last  of  its  kind  that  under  his  iron  sway  was 
ever  permitted  to  manifest  itself  in  the  streets 
of  the  Crescent  City. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

BUILDING    THE    RED    RIVER    DAM 

AFTER  the  fall  of  Port  Hudson,  on  July  8, 
1863,  Admiral  Farragut  was  desirous  of 
at  once  commencing  operations  against  Mobile, 
in  accordance  with  his  instructions  from  the 
Navy  Department.  General  Banks,  in  command 
of  the  Department  of  Louisiana,  however,  was 
informed  by  General  Halleck  that  there  were 
important  reasons,  other  than  military,  why  the 
movement  to  restore  the  flag  in  Texas  should 
be  made  first  and  with  the  least  possible  de- 
lay, and  a  combined  naval  and  military  opera- 
tion by  the  Red  River  was  indicated  as  the  best 
mode  of  carrying  out  that  object. 

The  first  attempt  to  "  plant  the  flag  in  Texas  " 
led  to  the  very  unfortunate  expedition  to  Sabine 
Pass  in  September,  which  was  a  dismal  fiasco. 
On  the  1st  of  March,  1864,  General  Sherman 
came  to  New  Orleans  and  immediate  arrange- 
ments were  made  to  send  ten  thousand  troops 
to  join  Admiral  Porter  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red 
River  for  a  proposed  naval  and  military  opera- 
tion against  the  Confederate  forces  in  that 
department. 

Admiral  Porter's  fleet,  assembled  at  the  mouth 
266 


Building  the  Red  River  Dam     267 

of  the  Bed  Kiver  on  March  12th,  included  the 
formidable  river  ironclads  Eastport,  Essex,  Ben- 
ton,  Lafayette,  Choctaw,  CMllicotlie,  Ozark, 
Louisville,  Carondelet,  Pittsburgh,  Mound  City, 
Osage,  Neosho,  and  the  light  draught  gunboats 
Ouachita,  Lexington,  Fort  Hindman,  Cricket, 
Gazelle,  Juliet,  and  Black  Hawk,  the  last 
bearing  the  admiral's  flag. 

This  was  distinctly  the  most  formidable  naval 
force  that  had  ever  been  collected  in  western 
waters.  It  was  under  a  commanding  officer 
courageous  and  experienced,  full  of  energy,  and 
remarkably  fertile  in  resource.  It  was  manned 
by  officers  and  men  veteran  in  river  warfare,  after 
two  years  of  arduous  experience  on  the  Missis- 
sippi and  its  tributaries.  This  powerful  fleet 
was  reinforced  by  ten  thousand  of  Sherman's 
old  soldiers,  under  General  A.  J.  Smith,  and 
the  navy  felt  that  there  would  be  few  laurels 
for  them  to  win,  little  dreaming  of  the  dangers, 
hardships,  and  possible  loss  of  a  portion  of  this 
splendid  squadron  that  was  in  store  for  them 
in  the  crooked,  narrow,  and  turgid  stream,  whose 
high  banks  furnished  the  most  favorable  posi- 
tions for  artillery  and  the  deadly  sharpshooter. 

On  March  12th  the  fleet  and  the  thirty  army 
transports  moved  up  the  Red  River.  The  main 
body  of  naval  vessels  turned  off  at  the  Atchafa- 
laya  to  cover  the  landing  of  Smith's  force  at 
Simsport,  whence  that  body  was  to  march  to 
Alexandria,  to  effect  a  junction  with  Banks's 


268  The  American  Navy 

array.  The  Eastport,  Osage,  Fort  Hindman,  and 
Cricket  were  ordered  to  go  ahead  and  clear  the 
river  of  any  obstructions  they  might  encounter. 

On  the  14th,  the  advance  squadron  found  a 
row  of  piles  across  the  river,  below  Fort  De 
Russy,  supported  by  a  second  row  bolted  to  the 
first,  while  a  perfect  forest  of  trees  had  been 
cut  and  floated  against  them,  with  their  branches 
interlaid  with  the  piles.  An  entire  day  wras 
occupied  in  removing  this  annoying  obstruction, 
and  before  the  gunboats  had  finally  pushed 
through  and  had  arrived  in  proximity  to  the 
fort  the  guns  of  the  attacking  Union  forces  were 
heard,  so  that  for  fear  of  injury  to  them  the 
fleet  could  fire  only  a  few  rounds  at  the  water- 
battery. 

The  capture  of  Fort  De  Russy  was  a  dashing 
and  gallant  affair,  General  Mower  actually  rid- 
ing into  the  fort  at  the  head  of  his  attacking 
column.  The  advance  of  the  gunboats,  however, 
was  delayed  by  their  despatch  boat  getting  en- 
tangled in  the  obstruction,  which  afforded  time 
for  the  Confederate  transports,  plainly  in  sight, 
to  escape  from  our  fleet. 

By  March  16th  nine  gunboats  had  arrived  at 
Alexandria,  about  ten  miles  above  Fort  De 
Russy,  and  Lieutenant-Commander  T.  E.  Self- 
ridge  was  ordered  to  occupy  the  town  with  one 
hundred  and  eighty  men  until  the  arrival  of 
General  Smith's  forces.  On  the  29th  fourteen 
of  the  squadron  left  Alexandria  for  the  upper 


BRACKET  DAM  -  MADE  OF  TIMBER,  AND  PLAMKIN& 


0AM  OF  FELLED  Tf^EES   WEIGHTED 


t-OG    CF(IB    FILLED    WITH  STONE  <Kc. 


THE    CONSTRUCTION    OF  THE    RED    RIVER    DAM 

Drawn  by  William  J.  Wilson 


Building  the  Red  River  Dam     269 

river,  the  Eastport  and  Osage  being  in  the  ad- 
vance. As  the  squadron  advanced,  the  enemy's 
scouts  set  fire  to  all  the  cotton  within  ten  miles 
of  the  river  bank.  Millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  it 
were  thus  destroyed,  and  so  dense  was  the  smoke 
that  the  sun  was  obscured  and  appeared  as 
though  seen  through  a  smoked  glass.  One  Sun- 
day morning  a  man  was  seen,  from  the  Eastport's 
deck,  in  front  of  a  handsome  house  waving  a 
white  handkerchief.  Captains  Phelps  and  Self- 
ridge  stopped  their  boats  and  going  on  shore 
accosted  him.  He  proved  to  be  a  brother  of 
Captain  Colhoun  of  our  navy.  He  had  taken  no 
part  in  the  war,  but  the  previous  night  the  scouts 
had  burned  five  thousand  bales  of  his  cotton  and 
his  gin-house.  The  total  loss  to  Mr.  Colhoun, 
estimating  the  cotton  at  its  market  price,  was 
fully  12,000,000.  Yet  he  was  but  one  of  the 
many  innocent  persons  who  suffered  the  loss  of 
all  their  property  through  this  indiscriminate 
destruction.  The  gunboats  were  now  beginning 
to  suffer  from  want  of  coal,  and  each  day,  after 
tying  up  at  the  bank  for  the  night,  the  planta- 
tions were  ravaged  of  their  fence  rails  as  far 
as  the  eye  could  see.  So  that  between  the  Con- 
federates destroying  their  cotton  and  the  Fed- 
erals levying  upon  their  fences  the  unfortunate 
planters'  lot  was  a  hard  one  indeed. 

April  3d  Volunteer  Lieutenant  J.  P.  Couthouy, 
a  very  gallant  officer  commanding  the  Lexington, 
was  shot  by  a  guerrilla  from  the  bank,  a  few 


270  The  American  Navy 

miles  above  Grand  Ecore.  On  the  7th  Admiral 
Porter  shifted  his  flag  to  the  Cricket  and  left 
Grand  Ecore  for  Shreveport  accompanied  by  the 
Osage,  Neosho,  Fort  Hindman,  Lexington,  and 
Chillicothe,  convoying  twenty  transports  con- 
taining Kilby  Smith's  division  of  the  Sixteenth 
Army  Corps,  a  rendezvous  being  agreed  upon 
with  the  army  at  Springfield  Landing,  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  miles  by  the  river  below  Shreve- 
port. The  river  at  this  time  was  stationary,  at 
a  lower  stage  than  usual  at  the  season,  and  there 
was  barely  water  to  float  the  gunboats. 

April  10th  the  fleet  arrived  at  Springfield  Land- 
ing, meeting  with  no  very  serious  obstruction 
beyond  the  usual  amount  of  bushwhacking,  to 
which  by  this  time  they  were  quite  accustomed. 
Here  the  river  was  found  obstructed  by  the  sink- 
ing of  a  large  steamer,  the  New  Falls  City,  across 
the  channel.  Admiral  Porter  also  here  obtained 
news  of  the  disastrous  battles  of  Sabine  Cross 
Roads  and  Pleasant  Hills  on  the  8th  and  9th 
of  April,  through  a  courier  who  brought  word 
that  our  army  was  falling  back  upon  Grand 
Ecore. 

Porter  at  once  held  a  council  of  his  command- 
ing officers  on  board  the  flagship  and  it  was 
decided  that  the  fleet  must  go  back,  and  the 
perilous  return  of  the  gunboats  to  the  Missis- 
sippi was  at  once  begun.  There  were  but  half 
a  dozen  vessels,  two  of  which  were  "  tin  clads," 
to  protect  the  long  line  of  transports.  The  river 


Building  the  Red  River  Dam     271 

was  rapidly  falling;  its  narrowness  and  its  high 
banks  afforded  the  best  possible  opportunities 
for  harassing  attacks,  and  the  bends  of  the 
stream  were  so  short  that  it  was  with  the  great- 
est difficulty  they  were  rounded  by  the  heavier 
vessels  of  the  fleet.  In  fact  it  became  necessary 
to  lash  the  transport  Black  Hawk  to  the  quarter 
of  the  Osage  to  render  her  manageable  in  the 
swift  current.  On  the  12th  the  Confederate 
General  Green,  with  three  or  four  regiments  of 
cavalry  and  three  guns,  posted  in  ambush  on 
the  bluff  near  Blair's  Landing,  attacked  the  fleet 
and  the  transports  as  they  were  descending  from 
Loggy  Bayou.  A  very  brisk  engagement  ensued, 
the  enemy  coming  on  in  column  of  regiments, 
protected  by  the  high  and  almost  perpendicular 
banks,  and  pouring  in  a  terrific  musketry  fire 
upon  the  boats  at  a  distance  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  yards.  The  great  guns  of  the  Osage, 
loaded  with  grape  and  canister,  were  served  with 
great  effect,  and  after  a  prolonged  engagement, 
lasting  one  hour  and  a  half,  the  enemy  retreated 
with  a  loss  of  over  four  hundred  killed  and 
wounded.  Among  the  dead  was  the  Confederate 
leader,  General  Thomas  Green,  a  very  famous 
partisan  fighter. 

By  the  13th  all  the  gunboats  were  back  at 
Grand  Ecore,  and  as  fast  as  the  vessels  could 
pass  the  bar  they  made  their  way  toward  Alex- 
andria. On  the  15th  the  gunboat  Eastport,  the 
largest  vessel  of  the  fleet,  was  sunk  by  a  torpedo 


272  The  American  Navy 

eight  miles  below  Grand  Ecore.  She  was  got 
afloat  on  the  21st,  but  on  the  26th  she  ran  hard 
and  fast  aground  fifty  miles  farther  down  the 
river  and  was  abandoned  and  blown  up  by  her 
commander. 

At  Alexandria  General  Hunter  was  met  bear- 
ing fresh  and  very  positive  orders  from  Grant 
to  bring  the  ill-fated  expedition  to  an  end.  But, 
orders  or  no  orders,  it  was,  of  course,  impossible 
to  abandon  the  vessels  of  the  navy  in  their  pres- 
ent perilous  situation,  with  the  river  falling 
and  an  active  enemy  on  both  banks. 

From  this  impending  disaster  the  country  was 
saved  by  the  genius  and  skill  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Joseph  Bailey,  of  the  4th  Wisconsin 
regiment,  and  by  hard  and  willing  work  on  the 
part  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  army.  After 
the  capture  of  Port  Hudson,  Bailey,  by  means 
of  wing  dams  and  a  central  boom  had  floated 
the  abandoned  Confederate  transports  Starlight 
and  Red  Chief,,  and  he  now  proposed  to  rescue 
the  imprisoned  fleet  in  the  same  wray.  Although 
the  work  looked  to  be  stupendous,  the  engineer 
officers  of  the  army  reported  it  practicable,  and 
active  operations  were  at  once  commenced  by 
order  of  General  Banks. 

The  river  had  fallen  more  than  six  feet  since 
the  fleet  had,  with  great  difficulty,  ascended  the 
rapids  and  for  a  mile  and  a  quarter  the  rocks 
were  now  bare.  There  were  but  three  feet  four 
inches  of  water  in  the  channel,  while  the  gun- 


Building  the  Red  River  Dam     273 

boats  needed  at  least  seven  feet.  The  current 
ran  nine  miles  an  hour,  the  total  fall  was  thir- 
teen feet,  and  at  the  point  just  above  the  lower 
chute,  where  Bailey  proposed  to  construct  his 
dam,  the  river  was  seven  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
feet  wide,  with  a  fall  of  six  feet  below  the  dam. 

The  problem  confronting  Bailey  was  to  raise 
the  water  above  the  dam  seven  feet,  backing  it 
up  so  as  to  float  the  gunboats  over  the  upper 
fall.  To  that  end  a  wing  dam  was  constructed 
of  large  trees,  the  butts  tied  by  cross-logs,  the 
tops  toward  the  current,  and  kept  in  place  by 
weighting  with  stone,  brick,  and  brush.  From 
the  south  bank,  where  large  trees  were  scarce, 
a  crib  was  made  of  logs  and  timbers,  filled  in 
with  stone  and  with  bricks  and  machinery  taken 
from  the  neighboring  sugar-houses  and  cotton- 
gins,  that  were  freely  levied  upon.  The  space 
of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  between  the 
wings  was  closed  by  sinking  across  it  four  of  the 
large  coal  barges  belonging  to  the  navy. 

This  gigantic  work,  begun  on  the  30th  of  April, 
was  finished  on  the  8th  of  May.  The  water  hav- 
ing been  thus  raised  five  feet  four  and  a  half 
inches,  three  of  the  light-draught  gunboats  passed 
the  upper  fall  safely  on  that  day.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  9th,  however,  the  tremendous  pres- 
sure of  the  pent-up  waters  drove  out  two  of  the 
barges,  making  a  gap  sixty-six  feet  wide,  and 
swung  them  against  the  rocks  below. 

Through  this  gap  the  water  rushed  in  a  tor- 

18 


274  The  American  Navy 

rent.  Admiral  Porter  at  once  galloped  round 
to  the  upper  fall  and  ordered  the  Lexington 
to  run  the  rapids  immediately.  With  a  full 
head  of  steam  she  made  the  plunge,  watched  in 
the  breathless  silence  of  suspense  by  the  army 
and  the  fleet,  and  greeted  with  a  mighty  cheer 
from  the  spectators  she  rode  in  safety  below. 
The  Osage,  Neosho,  and  Fort  Hindman,  that 
were  waiting  just  above  the  dam,  followed  their 
leader  safely  down  the  chute;  but  as  the  water 
shoaled  six  gunboats  and  two  tugs  were  still 
imprisoned  above. 

Bailey,  undaunted,  now  constructed  three 
wing  dams  at  the  upper  fall:  a  stone  crib  on 
the  south  side,  and  a  tree  dam  on  the  north  side 
just  above  the  upper  rocks,  and  just  below  them, 
also  on  the  north  side,  a  bracket  dam,  made  of 
logs  raised  at  the  lower  end  on  trestles  and 
sheathed  with  plank.  Thus  the  whole  current 
was  turned  into  one  narrow  channel.  A  further 
rise  of  fourteen  inches  was  thus  obtained,  making 
six  feet  six  and  a  half  inches  in  all;  and  this 
new  task  by  incredible  exertions  was  completed 
in  three  days  and  three  nights.  Hawsers  were 
then  run  out  from  the  gunboats  to  the  shore  and 
these,  with  the  united  force  of  three  thousand 
willing  men,  enlivened  with  a  band  of  music, 
dragged  the  vessels  over  the  bottom  till  they 
floated  in  the  deeper  water  beyond,  and  the  re- 
maining gunboats  thus  passed  free  of  the  danger 
on  the  12th  and  13th  of  May. 


Building  the  Red  River  Dam      275 

For  this  superb  feat  of  engineering,  which 
saved  Porter's  fleet  from  impending  destruction, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Bailey  very  justly  received 
the  thanks  of  Congress  and  was  made  a  brigadier 
general.  Vestiges  of  his  dam  remained  for 
years  after  the  war,  and  the  channel  of  the  river 
was  driven  toward  the  south  shore,  where  a  large 
slice  of  the  bank  was  washed  away  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  town. 

The  Ked  River  campaign  was  very  unfortu- 
nate for  both  sides  and  gave  cause  to  no  end 
of  quarrels  and  bitter  recriminations.  The  Con- 
federate General  Taylor  was  relieved  by  Kirby 
Smith;  Banks  was  overslaughed,  and  Franklin 
quitted  the  department  in  disgust,  while  between 
the  Union  general  commanding  and  the  admiral 
communications  were  exchanged  that  were  any- 
thing but  complimentary. 

An  unfortunate  incident  occurred  during  the 
building  of  the  dam,  when  two  of  the  light- 
draught  gunboats,  the  Signal,  and  Covington, 
while  convoying  the  Warner,  a  quarter-master's 
boat,  down  the  river  were  attacked  at  Dunn's 
Bayou,  by  a  force  of  six  thousand  Confederate 
troops  with  twenty-five  pieces  of  artillery.  The 
gunboats  gallantly  rounded  to  and  opened  the 
fight,  but  the  fire  of  the  enemy  was  so  severe 
that  their  boilers  were  perforated  and  their 
steam  pipes  cut.  This  unequal  contest  was  con- 
tinued for  five  hours,  when  Lieutenant  Lord  of 
the  Covington  landed  his  crew  and  set  fire  to 


276  The  American  Navy 

his  vessel.  The  Signal  unfortunately  had  too 
many  wounded  to  pursue  a  like  course  and  she 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  21st  of  May  the  squadron  and  trans- 
ports reached  the  Mississippi,  and  thus  ended 
the  humiliating  Red  Kiver  expedition.  The 
navy  lost  the  gunboats  Eastport,  Covington, 
and  Signal  and  the  pump-boats  Champion  No.  3 
and  No.  5.  The  total  naval  casualties  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing  were  one  hundred  and 
twenty  exclusive  of  the  crews  of  the  pump-boats, 
which  lost  about  two  hundred  men. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE    DESTRUCTION   OF   THE    RAM   "  ALBEMARLE  " 

AFTEE  the  capture  of  Eoanoke  Island  in 
1862  by  the  Federal  forces,  the  Confeder- 
ates found  the  waters  in  the  rear  of  Richmond, 
upon  which  they  depended  largely  for  the  intro- 
duction of  military  supplies,  as  well  as  for  the 
export  of  cotton,  seriously  threatened.  After 
two  ineffectual  attempts  to  expel  their  enemies 
from  Pamlico  Sound,  the  Confederate  authori- 
ties, therefore,  determined  to  construct  an 
armored  vessel  of  the  Merrimac  type,  and  Com- 
mander James  M.  Cooke,  an  able  and  experi- 
enced officer  of  the  Confederate  navy,  was  de- 
tailed, in  January,  1864,  to  superintend  her 
construction  at  Edward's  Ferry,  some  miles  up 
the  Roanoke  River.  The  plan  of  this  ship,  to 
be  called  the  Albemarle,  provided  for  a  vessel 
to  act  in  shallow  water  and  her  armament  was 
to  be  two  one-hundred-pound  rifles. 

The  Albemarle  was  finally  completed  and  on 
April  19,  1864,  she  came  out,  the  high  water 
enabling  her  to  pass  the  obstructions  that  our 
forces  had  placed  in  the  river  to  prevent  her 
descent.  She  was  met  by  the  United  States 
ships  Southfield  and  Miami,  but,  avoiding  the 

277 


278  The  American  Navy 

latter,  the  Albemarle,  at  full  speed,  dashed  for 
the  Southfield,  driving  her  ram  ten  feet  into 
the  doomed  vessel.  The  two  ships  were  en- 
tangled and  the  Southfield  instantly  began  to 
sink,  carrying  down  with  her  the  Albemarle, 
whose  bow  was  actually  under  water  and 
through  whose  forward  ports  a  flood  was  pour- 
ing, when  the  Southfield  rolled  off  the  ram,  and 
the  Albemarle  righted  herself. 

The  Miami,  Lieutenant  Flusser,  meanwhile 
came  up  and,  at  very  close  quarters,  fired  a 
nine-inch  shell  at  the  Albemarle's  side.  This, 
as  it  struck,  shattered,  and  the  fragments,  fly- 
ing back,  instantly  killed  the  gallant  Flusser. 
The  Miami  then  withdrew,  leaving  the  Albe- 
marle in  undisputed  possession  of  the  upper 
waters  of  Albemarle  Sound. 

A  large  fleet  of  wooden  ships  was  at  once 
gathered  by  the  Federal  authorities  and  on  May 
5th  the  Albemarle  again  came  down  to  battle, 
accompanied  by  two  smaller  vessels.  The  ram 
opened  fire  on  the  ships  and  after  a  brief  en- 
gagement the  Sassacus  backed,  and  then  came 
with  tremendous  force  at  the  Albemarle  under 
a  full  head  of  steam,  using  oil  and  cotton  waste 
in  her  furnaces.  She  struck  with  a  speed  of 
eight  knots  on  the  starboard  quarter  of  the  ram, 
depressing  the  Albemarle's  stern  and  twisting 
her  own  bow,  in  the  collision.  Meanwhile,  as 
the  Sassacus  swung  around,  the  ram  fired  two 
one-hundred-pound  shells  through  her,  piercing 


Destruction  of  the  "Albemarle"  279 

her  boiler  and  filling  the  ship  with  scalding 
steam.  For  thirteen  minutes  the  combatants 
were  hidden  in  a  dense  cloud  of  steam,  and  then 
the  Albemarle  retired,  very  well  satisfied  with 
the  result  of  her  second  day's  work. 

It  having  become  painfully  evident  that  this 
formidable  ram  could  not  be  destroyed  by  the 
wooden  ships,  an  expedition  from  the  fleet  wras 
undertaken  by  Coalheaver  Baldwin,  with  four 
volunteers,  having  four  torpedoes  in  a  boat. 
They  landed  on  the  night  of  May  25th,  in  a 
branch  of  the  Eoanoke,  above  the  point  where 
the  Albemarle  lay  at  anchor.  Their  plan  was 
to  float  the  two  torpedoes,  connected  by  a  line, 
down  on  the  ram  where  they  were  to  be  ex- 
ploded by  Baldwin.  The  plan  miscarried,  as 
the  torpedoes  fouled  a  schooner.  Baldwin  was 
discovered  by  a  sentinel  and  with  his  companions 
took  refuge  in  a  swamp,  where  they  lay  for  two 
days  before  they  escaped. 

The  final  and  successful  attempt  to  destroy 
the  Albemarle  was  conducted  by  Lieutenant 
William  Barker  Gushing,  a  young  officer  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  formulated  a  plan 
for  destroying  the  rani  in  June,  while  he  was 
in  command  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Monticello.  He 
submitted  his  plan  to  Rear  Admiral  Lee,  in 
command  of  the  squadron,  who  gave  him  leave 
of  absence  with  permission  to  carry  his  project 
into  effect.  Proceeding  to  New  York  Gushing 
applied  for  one  of  the  new  steam  picket  launches, 


280  The  American  Navy 

invented  by  Chief  Engineer  W.  W.  Wood,  and 
his  request  was  granted.  She  was  brought 
down  to  Albemarle  Sound,  fitted  with  a  twelve- 
pound  howitzer  mounted  in  the  bow,  and  with 
a  torpedo  attached  to  a  spar  twenty-eight  feet 
long. 

On  the  night  of  October  27th,  with  a  picked 
crew  of  thirteen  officers  and  men,  Gushing  ran 
up  to  Plymouth.  In  his  modest  official  report 
of  what  followed  he  says: 

The  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  the 
ram  was  about  eight  miles,  the  stream  averaging 
in  width  some  two  hundred  yards,  and  lined  with 
the  enemy's  pickets.  A  mile  below  the  town  was 
the  wreck  of  the  Southfield,  surrounded  by  some 
schooners,  and  it  was  understood  that  a  gun  was 
mounted  there  to  command  the  bend.  I  therefore 
took  one  of  the  Shamrock's  cutters  in  tow,  with 
orders  to  cast  off  and  board  at  that  point,  if  we 
were  hailed.  Our  boat  succeeded  in  passing  the 
pickets,  and  even  the  Southfield,  within  twenty 
yards,  without  discovery,  and  we  were  not  hailed 
until  by  the  lookouts  on  the  ram.  The  cutter  was 
then  cast  off  and  ordered  below,  while  we  made 
for  our  enemy  under  a  full  head  of  steam. 

The  rebels  sprung  their  rattle,  rang  the  bell,  and 
commenced  firing,  at  the  same  time  repeating  their 
hail  and  seeming  much  confused.  The  light  of  a 
fire  ashore  showed  me  the  ironclad  made  fast  to 
the  wharf,  with  a  pen  of  logs  around  her  about 
thirty  feet  from  her  side. 

Passing  her  closely,  we  made  a  complete  circle, 


Destruction  of  the  "  Albemarle"    281 

so  as  to  strike  her  fairly,  and  went  into  her,  bows 
on.  By  this  time  the  enemy's  fire  was  very  severe, 
but  a  dose  of  canister  at  short  range  served  to 
moderate  their  zeal  and  disturb  their  aim.  Pay- 
master Swan,  of  the  Otsego,  was  wounded  near  me, 
but  how  many  more  I  know  not.  Three  bullets 
struck  my  clothing,  and  the  air  seemed  full  of 
them. 

In  a  moment  we  had  struck  the  logs,  just  abreast 
of  the  quarter  port,  breasting  them  in  some  feet, 
and  our  bows  resting  on  them.  The  torpedo  boom 
was  then  lowered  and  by  a  vigorous  pull  I  succeeded 
in  diving  the  torpedo  under  the  overhang  and  ex- 
ploding it  at  the  same  time  that  the  Albemarle's 
gun  was  fired.  A  shot  seemed  to  go  crashing 
through  my  boat,  and  a  dense  mass  of  water  rushed 
in  from  the  torpedo,  filling  the  launch  and  com- 
pletely disabling  her. 

The  enemy  then  continued  his  fire  at  fifteen  feet 
range,  and  demanded  our  surrender,  which  I  twice 
refused,  ordering  the  men  to  save  themselves,  and 
removing  my  own  coat  and  shoes.  Then  springing 
into  the  river,  I  swam,  with  others,  into  the  middle 
of  the  stream,  the  rebels  failing  to  hit  us. 

The  most  of  our  party  were  captured,  some  were 
drowned,  and  only  one  escaped  besides  myself,  and 
he  in  another  direction.  I  met  Acting-Master's 
Mate  Woodman,  of  the  Commodore  Hull,  in  the 
water  half  a  mile  below  the  town,  and  assisted  him 
as  best  I  could,  but  failed  to  get  him  ashore. 

Completely  exhausted,  I  managed  to  reach  the 
shore,  but  was  too  weak  to  crawl  out  of  the  water 
until  just  at  daylight,  when  I  managed  to  creep 
into  the  swamp,  close  to  the  fort.  While  hiding 


282  The  American  Navy 

a  few  feet  from  the  path,  two  of  the  Albemarle's 
officers  passed,  and  I  judged  from  their  conversa- 
tion that  the  ship  was  destroyed. 

Some  hours'  travelling  in  the  swamp  served  to 
bring  me  out  well  below  the  town,  when  I  sent  a 
negro  in  to  gain  information  and  found  that  the  ram 
was  truly  sunk.  Proceeding  through  another  swamp, 
I  came  to  a  creek  and  captured  a  skiff,  belonging 
to  a  picket  of  the  enemy,  and  with  this,  by  eleven 
o'clock  the  next  night,  had  made  my  way  out  to 
the  Valley  City. 

President  Lincoln  sent  a  message  to  Congress 
specially  recommending  that  Lieutenant  Gush- 
ing receive  a  vote  of  thanks  "  for  his  impor- 
tant, gallant,  and  perilous  achievement,"  and 
the  young  officer  was  promoted  to  Lieutenant- 
Commander  on  27  October,  1864.  Hear  Admiral 
David  D.  Porter,  commanding  the  squadron, 
issued  a  general  order  in  which  he  said: 

The  gallant  exploits  of  Lieutenant  Gushing  pre- 
vious to  this  affair  will  form  a  bright  page  in  the 
history  of  the  war,  but  they  have  all  been  eclipsed 
by  the  destruction  of  the  Albemarle.  The  spirit 
evidenced  by  this  officer  is  what  I  wish  to  see  per- 
vading this  squadron.  He  has  shown  an  absolute 
disregard  of  death  or  danger,  and  will  no  doubt 
be  suitably  rewarded  by  the  Government,  which 
reward  he  well  deserves.  Opportunities  will  be 
offered  to  all  those  who  have  the  energy  and  skill 
to  undertake  like  enterprises;  and  twenty  volun- 
teers are  wanted  at  this  moment  to  perform  a  like 


Destruction  of  the  "  Albemarle  "    283 

service.    The  chances  are  death,  capture,  glory,  and 
promotion. 

In  response  to  this  request  for  twenty  volun- 
teers for  extra  hazardous  duty  it  is  an  interest- 
ing fact,  indicative  of  the  spirit  of  the  service, 
that  seventy-seven  officers,  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  men,  and  the  entire  crew  of  the  U.  S. 
S.  Tuscarora,  at  once  volunteered  their  services. 

In  the  final  and  successful  attack  upon  Fort 
Fisher,  Gushing,  under  a  constant  and  heavy 
fire,  buoyed  out  the  channel  in  a  small  skiff, 
continuing  the  work  for  six  hours,  until  com- 
pleted. In  the  assault  on  the  fort  he  led  a  force 
of  seamen  and  marines  from  the  Monticello 
and,  amid  a  fire  which  cut  down  his  men  in 
windrows,  he  crossed  a  hundred  yards  of  sand, 
rallied  his  men,  and  lent  such  efficient  assistance 
to  the  troops  that  before  midnight  the  fort  was 
surrendered. 

On  January  21,  1872,  Lieutenant-Commander 
Gushing  was  advanced  to  the  grade  of  Com- 
mander, being  the  youngest  officer  of  that  rank 
in  the  navy.  Soon  after  this  his  health  failed 
and  he  died  in  Washington,  December  17,  1874. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   "  KEARSAEGE  "   AND   "  ALABAMA  "    FIGHT 

WHILE  our  armies  were  fighting  the  ter- 
rible battles  in  the  Wilderness,  in  1864, 
and  the  whole  country  was  in  a  state  of  feverish 
anxiety,  a  piece  of  news  was  flashed  across  the 
Atlantic  that  gave  more  general  satisfaction  to 
the  people  at  large  than  the  intelligence  of 
a  hard-won  battle  in  Virginia.  It  was  the 
announcement  that  the  Confederate  cruiser 
Alabama  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  English 
Channel,  sent  there  by  the  guns  of  the  victorious 
Kearsarge. 

For  the  past  two  years  the  successful  opera- 
tions of  the  Alabama  had  attracted  the  attention 
of  Europe  as  well  as  America,  for  she  made  her 
debut  as  a  warship  by  plunging  in  among  the 
American  whaling  fleet  off  Fayal,  in  September, 
1862.  During  the  next  eighteen  months  the 
Alabama  had  seemed  to  be  everywhere,  burn- 
ing, sinking,  and  bonding  sixty-nine  vessels,  and 
finally,  in  January,  1863,  she  succeeded  in  de- 
coying the  U.  S.  S.  Hatteras  out  from  the  fleet 
blockading  Galveston,  and  in  a  lively  contest 
of  fifteen  minutes  sent  her  to  the  bottom  of  the 

Gulf  of  Mexico. 

284 


"Kearsarge"  and  "Alabama"  Fight  285 

Early  in  1862  Captain  John  A.  Winslow, 
U.  S.  N.,  was  sent  in  command  of  the  U.  S.  S. 
Kearsarge  to  cruise  on  the  coast  of  Europe  in 
search  of  the  Alabama  and  other  .Confederate 
vessels.  For  some  time  Winslow  blockaded  the 
Rappahannock  in  the  port  of  Calais,  but  after 
two  months,  in  despair  of  getting  to  sea,  her 
commander  dismantled  the  ship  and  she  was 
laid  up.  Later,  while  the  Kearsarge  was  at 
Antwerp,  in  May,  1864,  Winslow  received  a  de- 
spatch informing  him  that  the  Alabama  had 
put  into  Cherbourg,  France,  for  repairs.  The 
Kearsarge  at  once  sailed  for  that  port  and  took 
up  a  position  off  the  famous  breakwater. 

Captain  Semmes  was  now  for  the  first  time 
placed  in  a  position  where  he  would  either  have 
to  fight  the  Kearsarge — a  ship  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible of  the  same  size  as  his  own  and  with  an 
equal  armament — or  decline  the  combat  alto- 
gether. So  he  sent  out  a  challenge  to  Captain 
Winslow,  which  that  officer  immediately  ac- 
cepted. The  news  of  the  approaching  naval 
battle  soon  spread,  as  it  was  telegraphed  in  all 
directions,  and  as  a  natural  result  crowds  came 
down  from  Paris  and  from  places  in  the  vicinity 
to  see  the  fight,  yachts  collected,  and  wagers 
were  freely  laid  upon  the  result  of  the  contest. 

At  length,  on  Sunday  morning,  June  19,  1864, 
the  Alabama,  having  made  all  her  preparations, 
steamed  out  of  Cherbourg,  accompanied  by  the 
French  ironclad  Couronne.  The  morning  was 


286  The  American  Navy 

exceptionally  fine,  the  sea  calm,  with  a  light 
haze  on  the  water,  not  sufficient  to  obscure  the 
movements  of  the  ships.  The  French  frigate 
accompanied  the  Alabama,  until  she  was  beyond 
the  marine  league  of  French  jurisdiction,  and 
then  withdrew. 

The  Kearsarge,  sighting  the  Alabama  at  10.30 
A.M.,  at  once  headed  seaward  to  draw  Semmes 
as  far  as  possible  from  shore,  so  that,  in  case 
of  his  vessel  being  partially  disabled,  she  could 
not  readily  escape  by  running  into  French 
waters.  Both  vessels  then  cleared  for  action, 
pivoting  their  guns  to  starboard,  and  as  the 
Kearsarge  came  around,  the  Alabama  sheered, 
slowed  her  engine  and  fired  a  broadside,  which 
did  no  damage  to  her  adversary.  Winslow  at 
once  increased  his  speed,  striving  to  strike  his 
enemy  with  full  force,  but  the  Alabama  again 
sheered  and  opened  fire.  The  ships  were  now 
brought  broadside  to  broadside,  at  a  distance  of 
about  seven  hundred  yards,  and  as  both  vessels 
were  under  a  full  head  of  steam  they  were  forced 
into  a  circular  movement,  steaming  in  opposite 
directions  round  a  common  centre,  with  the  cur- 
rent setting  them  to  the  westward. 

The  firing  of  the  Alabama,  throughout  the  en- 
gagement, was  very  rapid,  but  also  very  wild. 
During  the  first  eighteen  minutes  not  a  man 
was  injured  on  board  the  Kearsarge.  Then  a 
sixty-eight-pound  Blakely  shell  passed  through 
the  starboard  bulwarks,  near  the  main  rigging, 


"Kearsarge"  and  "Alabama"  Fight  287 

and  exploded  on  the  quarter-deck,  wounding 
three  men  at  the  after  pivot  gun,  one  of  whom 
died  later.  This,  strange  as  it  seems,  was  the 
only  casualty  among  the  crew  of  the  Kearsarge 
during  the  whole  engagement.  The  firing  of  the 
Kearsarge  was  very  deliberate  and  especial  pains 
were  taken  in  sighting  the  two  eleven-inch  pivot 
guns.  At  the  distance  at  which  they  were  fired, 
about  half  a  mile,  they  were  terribly  effective. 
One  shell  disabled  a  gun  on  board  the  Alabama 
and  killed  and  wounded  eighteen  men.  Another 
exploded  in  her  coal-bunker  and  completely 
blocked  the  engine-room.  Other  shells  tore  great 
gaps  in  her  sides,  and  it  soon  became  evident 
that  the  Alabama's  race  was  run. 

For  an  hour  this  fire  was  exchanged,  the 
Kearsarge  suffering  very  little,  while  almost 
every  one  of  her  shot  struck  the  Alabama,  crash- 
ing through  her  sides,  exploding  within  her  or 
upon  her  decks,  and  sweeping  away  her  crew, 
many  of  whom  were  literally  torn  to  pieces  by 
the  fearful  missiles.  She  was  thus  rapidly  be- 
ing reduced  to  a  wreck,  her  decks  were  strewn 
with  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  the  water  was 
pouring  in  through  the  gaps  in  her  sides. 

Semmes  now  made  one  last  desperate  effort 
to  escape  from  his  antagonist,  and  suddenly 
bore  up  for  the  French  coast,  making  all  sail 
that  he  could  to  help  his  disabled  engines.  But 
he  was  too  late.  The  Alabama  was  rapidly  sink- 
ing, and  the  water  which  poured  into  her  soon 


288  The  American  Navy 

put  out  the  fires  in  her  boiler-room.  One  or 
two  more  shots  brought  down  her  flag.  For  a 
moment  it  was  uncertain  whether  it  had  been 
hauled  down  or  shot  away,  but  soon  a  white 
flag  was  shown  and  the  fire  of  the  Kearsarge 
ceased. 

In  a  moment  more  another  gun  was  rashly 
fired  from  the  Alabama,  which  was  at  once  re- 
turned and  then  the  Kearsarge  steamed  ahead 
and  ranged  across  the  Alabama's  bow,  with  the 
idea  of  sinking  her,  but,  the  white  flag  being 
again  shown,  the  attack  ceased.  A  boat  now  came 
from  the  Alabama,  with  an  officer,  to  announce 
that  Captain  Semmes  had  surrendered  and  ask- 
ing for  aid  to  remove  his  crew  from  the  sinking 
ship.  The  only  two  boats  of  the  Kearsarge,  in 
condition  to  use,  were  at  once  lowered,  but  be- 
fore they  could  reach  her  they  saw  the  Alabama 
settle  by  the  stern,  raise  her  bows  high  up  in 
the  air,  shake  her  mizzen-mast  over  the  side,  and 
plunge  down  to  the  bottom. 

The  crew  were  left  struggling  in  the  water 
and  the  boats  of  the  Kearsarge  picked  up  as 
many  as  they  could  and  hailed  the  English  yacht 
Deerhound,  that  had  steamed  up  meanwhile,  re- 
questing them  to  assist  in  saving  the  prisoners. 
Both  parties  saved  such  as  they  could.  When 
no  more  were  to  be  seen  floating,  the  Americans, 
to  their  great  surprise,  found  the  yacht  making 
off  at  full  speed,  instead  of  delivering  the  prison- 
ers she  had  picked  up,  among  them  Captain 


"Kearsarge"  and  " Alabama"  Fight  289 

Semrnes,    the    commander    of    the    vanquished 
Alabama. 

In  his  official  letter  to  Captain  Winslow, 
Gideon  Welles,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  says: 

The  Alabama  represented  the  best  maritime  effort 
of  the  best  English  workshops.  Her  battery  was 
composed  of  the  well-tried  thirty-two-pounders  of 
fifty-seven  hundred  weight,  of  the  famous  sixty-eight- 
pounder  of  the  British  navy,  and  of  the  only  suc- 
cessful rifled  one-hundred-pounder  yet  produced  in 
England.  The  crew  were  generally  recruited  in 
Great  Britain,  and  many  of  them  received  superior 
training  on  board  her  Majesty's  gunnery  ship  the 
Excellent.  The  Kearsarge  is  one  of  the  first  gun- 
boats built  at  our  navy  yards,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Rebellion,  and  lacks  the  improvements  of  the 
vessels  now  under  construction.  .  .  .  The  President 
has  signified  his  intention  to  recommend  to  Con- 
gress that  you  receive  a  vote  of  thanks,  in  order 
that  you  may  be  advanced  to  the  grade  of  Com- 
modore. Lieutenant  Commander  James  S.  Thorn- 
ton, the  executive  officer  of  the  Kearsarge,  will  be 
recommended  to  the  Senate  for  advancement  ten 
numbers  in  his  grade. 

It  was  stated,  soon  after  the  fight,  that  the 
Kearsarge  was  "  an  ironclad  in  disguise."  Re- 
plying to  this  Captain  Winslow  says  in  his 
official  report: 

The  Kearsarge's  battery  consists  of  seven  guns, 
two  eleven-inch  Dahlgrens,  four  thirty-two-pounders, 
one  light  rifled  twenty-eight-pounder.  The  battery 


290  The  American  Navy 

of  the  Alabama  was  one  one-hundred-pounder  rifled 
and  six  thirty-two-pounders;  that  is  one  more  gun 
than  the  Kearsarge.  In  the  wake  of  the  engines, 
on  the  outside,  the  Kearsarge  had  stopped  up  and 
down  her  sheet  anchor  chains.  These  were  secured 
by  marline  to  eyebolts,  which  extended  some  twenty 
feet,  and  this  was  done  by  our  own  crew.  The 
whole  was  covered  by  light  plank  to  prevent  dirt 
collecting.  It  was  placed  there  to  protect  the  en- 
gines when  there  was  no  coal  in  the  upper  part  of 
the  bunkers,  as  was  the  case  when  the  action  took 
place.  The  Alabama  had  bunkers  full,  and  was 
equally  protected. 

The  Kearsarge  went  into  action  with  a  crew  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty-two  officers  and  men.  The 
Alabama,  by  report  of  the  Deerhound  officers,  had 
one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  action  lasted  one  hour 
and  two  minutes,  from  the  first  to  the  last  shot. 
The  Kearsarge  received  twenty-eight  shots  above 
and  below,  thirteen  about  her  hull;  the  best  shots 
were  abaft  the  main-mast,  two  shots  which  cut  the 
chain  stops,  the  shell  of  which  broke  the  casing  of 
wood  covering;  they  were  too  high  to  damage  the 
boilers  had  they  penetrated.  The  Kearsarge  was 
only  slightly  damaged,  and  I  supposed  the  hot  work 
of  the  action  had  just  commenced  when  it  ended. 
Toward  the  last  the  Alabama  hoisted  sail  to  get 
away,  when  I  laid  the  Kearsarge  across  her  bows, 
and  would  have  raked  her  had  she  not  surrendered, 
which  she  had  done,  and  was  trying  to  get  her  flags 
down,  showing  a  white  flag  over  the  stern.  The 
officers  of  the  Alabama  on  board  the  Kearsarge  say 
that  she  was  a  perfect  slaughter-house  and  was 
completely  torn  to  pieces. 


"Kearsarge"  and  " Alabama"  Fight  291 

The  fight  between  the  Kearsarge  and  Alabama 
was  a  contest  between  two  ships  as  nearly  equal 
in  size,  armament,  and  number  of  crew,  as  was 
possible,  while  the  officers  of  each  vessel  had 
been  trained  in  the  same  military  school :  but  the 
Kearsarge  had  a  great  advantage  over  her  an- 
tagonist in  the  character  of  her  crew  and  in 
their  naval  quality.  The  Alabama  was  manned 
by  adventurers  and  desperadoes  of  every  nation, 
lacking  discipline  and  held  together  solely  by 
mercenary  motives.  Very  few  of  them  were 
Americans  and  those  few  were  mainly  outcasts, 
with  no  personal  interest  in  the  cause  of  the 
Confederacy,  under  whose  flag  they  had  enlisted 
as  free-booters  in  search  of  adventure  or  gain. 
But  of  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  men 
that  fought  on  the  deck  of  the  Kearsarge,  all 
but  eleven  were  sturdy  sons  of  New  England, 
of  the  old  Puritan  stock,  descendants  of  sires 
who  had,  mayhap,  fought  in  these  same  narrow 
seas  two  hundred  years  before  with  Blake  and 
Deane,  or  a  century  later  with  Paul  Jones  on 
the  deck  of  the  Bon  Homme  Richard.  These 
men  by  constant  drill  and  inflexible  discipline 
had  been  moulded  into  a  body  that  became  a 
superb  fighting  unit  in  the  day  of  battle. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE    BATTLE   IN    MOBILE   BAY 

THE  battle  of  Mobile  Bay  was  the  most 
brilliant  action  in  which  Farragut  took 
part  and  it  was  to  be,  as  he  himself  felt,  the 
crowning  achievement  of  his  naval  career.  It 
was  also  the  first  and  only  time  in  which 
Farragut  had  under  his  immediate  command 
modern  ironclad  vessels  as  part  of  his  fleet.  The 
defences  of  the  bay  consisted  mainly  of  three 
forts,  Morgan,  Gaines,  and  Powell;  the  first  a 
brick  bastioned  work  with  walls  four  feet,  eight 
inches  thick,  with  an  armament  of  eighty-six 
guns,  rifled  thirty-twos,  ten-inch  Columbiads, 
and  two  seven-  and  eight-inch  Brooks  rifles.  In 
the  bastion,  flank,  and  water  batteries  were 
forty  additional  guns,  of  various  calibres.  The 
garrison  numbered  six  hundred  and  forty  men. 
Fort  Gaines  was  a  star-shaped  work  of  brick, 
with  thirty  guns  mounted. 

On  the  flats,  southward  and  eastward  of 
Gaines,  innumerable  piles  were  driven  to  ob- 
struct the  passage  of  vessels  and  from  these  two 
lines  of  torpedoes  extended  toward  Fort  Mor- 
gan, terminating  at  a  point  a  few  hundred  yards 

from  that  fort,  indicated  by  a  red  buoy.     This 

292 


i-  g 

5  I 

§  5 

<  3 


The  Battle  in  Mobile  Bay        293 

channel,  left  open  for  blockade  runners,  was 
within  close  range  of  the  guns  of  the  fort. 
Auxiliary  to  this  land  defence,  about  five  hun- 
dred yards  northward  from  Fort  Morgan,  lay  the 
formidable  ironclad  steamer  Tennessee.  She  was 
two  hundred  and  nine  feet  in  length,  with  a  pro- 
jecting iron  prow  two  feet  below  the  water  line. 
Her  sloping  sides  were  covered  with  an  armor 
from  five  to  six  inches  in  thickness,  and  she 
carried  six  Brooks  rifled  guns  in  casemate,  two 
of  which  were  pivot,  throwing  solid  projectiles 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds.  Her  weak 
point  was  her  steering  gear,  which  was  badly 
arranged  and  much  exposed.  Near  her  were 
anchored  three  wooden  gunboats,  the  Morgan, 
Gaines,  and  Selma. 

Farragut,  as  usual,  issued  carefully  prepared 
orders  to  his  commanders,  covering  every  pos- 
sible contingency,  and  arranged  his  order  of 
battle,  the  wooden  ships  to  pass  the  forts  in 
pairs,  a  gunboat  lashed  to  each  of  the  heavier 
ships,  as  follows:  Brooklyn  and  Octorara; 
Hartford  and  Metacomet;  Richmond  and  Port 
Royal;  Lackawanna  and  Seminole;  Monongahela 
and  Kennebec;  Ossipee  and  Itasca;  Oneida  and 
Galena. 

At  half  past  five  on  the  morning  of  August 
5th,  the  Admiral,  still  sipping  his  tea,  quietly 
said  to  his  flag  captain,  "  Well,  Drayton,  we 
might  as  well  get  under  way."  In  one  minute 
answering  signals  came  from  every  ship  of  the 


294  The  American  Navy 

fleet,  the  wooden  vessels  taking  up  their  respec- 
tive positions  and  steering  for  Sand  Island 
Channel,  while  the  four  monitors  filed  out  and 
formed  in  single  column  to  the  right  of  the 
wooden  ships,  the  Tecumseh  first,  followed  by 
the  Manhattan,  Winnebago,  and  Chickasaw. 

The  Confederate  fleet  had,  meantime,  taken 
position  in  line  of  echelon  across  the  channel, 
with  their  port  batteries  bearing  on  our  fleet. 
The  Tennessee  was  a  little  westward  of  the  red 
buoy  and  close  to  the  inner  line  of  torpedoes. 
At  6.47  the  Tecumseh  opened  fire  and  Fort 
Morgan  responded.  As  the  wooden  vessels  came 
within  shorter  range  Farragut  signalled  "  closer 
order,"  which  was  promptly  obeyed,  each  vessel 
closing  up  to  within  a  few  yards  of  the  one 
ahead,  and  a  little  on  the  starboard  quarter, 
thus  enabling  such  of  the  ships  as  had  chase 
guns  to  bring  them  to  bear. 

The  fleet  was  now  subjected  to  a  terrible 
raking  fire  for  fully  half  an  hour,  before  they 
could  bring  their  broadsides  to  bear  with  effect. 
At  last,  however,  the  Brooklyn  and  Hartford 
were  enabled  to  pour  in  their  broadsides  and 
speedily  drove  the  Confederate  gunners  from 
the  barbette  and  water  batteries. 

The  Admiral,  meanwhile,  in  his  anxiety  to 
have  a  clear  and  unobstructed  view  of  what 
was  going  on,  had,  after  his  customary  fashion, 
gone  a  few  ratlines  up  the  main  rigging  of 
the  Hartford,  and,  as  the  smoke  increased,  he 


(0     * 


Q  if 

0  - 

1  I 


The  Battle  in  Mobile  Bay        295 

ascended,  step  by  step,  until  he  had  reached 
the  futtock  shrouds,  below  the  main-top.  Cap- 
tain Dray  ton,  observing  this,  sent  Quarter- 
master Knowles  up  with  a  line,  who  passed  a 
few  turns  around  the  Admiral,  and  there  he 
remained  until  the  fleet  entered  the  bay. 

By  half  past  seven  the  ironclad  Tecumseh  was 
well  up  with  the  fort  and  drawing  slowly  by 
the  Tennessee,  having  her  on  the  port  beam, 
when  she  suddenly  reeled  to  port  and  went  down 
instantly,  with  almost  every  soul  on  board,  de- 
stroyed by  a  torpedo;  Captain  Craven,  in  his 
eagerness  to  engage  the  ram,  had  passed  to  the 
west  of  the  fatal  buoy.  If  he  had  gone  but  his 
breadth  of  beam  eastward  of  it,  he  would  have 
been  safe.  This  appalling  disaster  was  not  at 
first  realized  by  the  fleet.  Some  supposed  the 
Tennessee  had  been  sunk  and  cheer  after  cheer 
rang  out  from  our  ships.  But  Farragut,  from 
aloft,  saw  the  true  state  of  affairs  and  his 
anxiety  was  increased  when  he  saw  that  the 
Brooklyn,  just  ahead,  had  suddenly  stopped.  He 
hailed  his  pilot,  Freeman,  above  him  in  the  top : 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  the  Brooklyn?  She 
must  have  plenty  of  water  there." 

"  Plenty  and  to  spare,  Admiral,"  replied  the 
sturdy  pilot;  "but  her  screw  is  moving;  yes,  I 
think  she  is  going  ahead,  sir." 

If  that  were  true,  it  was  glorious  news  indeed ! 
But  no!  she  backed.  Backed  full  upon  the 
flagship !  thus  arresting  the  advance  of  the  whole 


296  The  American  Navy 

fleet;  so  that  the  rear  pressed  upon  the  van, 
the  van  upon  the  rear,  and  all  was  disorder  and 
confusion !  The  enemy,  not  slow  to  comprehend 
this  condition  of  affairs,  took  advantage  of  their 
opportunity,  and,  manning  all  the  guns  from 
which  they  had  so  recently  been  driven,  poured 
in  a  murderous  fire  upon  our  fleet,  which  met 
with  but  a  feeble  fire  in  response.  "  At  this 
critical  moment,"  writes  an  eye-witness,  "  the 
batteries  of  our  ships  were  almost  silent,  while 
the  whole  of  Mobile  Point  was  a  living  line  of 
flame."  The  slightest  vacillation  then,  on  the 
part  of  the  admiral,  and  the  battle  would  have 
been  lost  and  the  greater  part  of  our  fleet  de- 
stroyed. But  Farragut  was  the  man  for  the  oc- 
casion and  fully  equal  to  the  emergency.  His 
great  qualities  as  a  naval  commander,  which 
were  apparent  to  all  who  were  near  him  in  times 
of  extreme  peril,  were  never  more  conspicuous 
than  on  this  trying  occasion.  Danger  there  was 
and  disaster  there  might  be  ahead,  he  knew,  but 
astern  was  sure  defeat  and  dishonor,  and  there 
could  be  for  him  but  one  course  to  steer,  that 
leading  straight  into  Mobile  Bay,  where  the 
Confederate  vessels  were  awaiting  him.  But 
between  him  and  the  Confederates  interposed 
the  Brooklyn,  and  how  to  get  by  her  was  the 
problem,  for  she  lay  right  athwart  the  Hart- 
ford's hawse,  bows  on  to  Fort  Morgan. 

"What's  the  trouble?"  was  shouted  through 
a  trumpet  from  the  flagship  to  the  Brooklyn. 


The  Battle  in  Mobile  Bay         297 

"  Torpedoes,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Damn  the  torpedoes,"  said  Farragut.  "  Four 
bells,  Captain  Drayton.  Go  ahead,  Jouett,  full 
speed !  "  And  the  Hartford  passing  the  Brook- 
lyn assumed  the  head  of  the  line  and  led  the 
fleet  to  victory! 

Then  was  made  manifest  the  soundness  of  the 
Admiral's  judgment  in  lashing  his  .vessels  to- 
gether by  pairs;  for  the  Hartford  going  ahead, 
while  the  Metacomet  backed,  the  bows  of  the 
flagship  were  swung  to  the  westward  until  clear 
of  the  Brooklyn's  stern,  when  both  vessels 
gathered  headway. 

Farragut  then  called  to  Jouett,  "  Send  a 
boat  to  pick  up  those  poor  fellows  from  the 
Tccumseh."  Jouett,  who  had  anticipated  the 
order  to  save  the  drowning  men,  had  already 
despatched  a  boat  on  this  humane  mission  in 
charge  of  Acting-Ensign  Henry  C.  Nields.  Start- 
ing from  the  port  quarter  of  the  Metacomet, 
and  steering  the  boat  himself,  this  mere  boy 
pulled  directly  under  the  battery  of  the  Hart- 
ford and  around  the  Brooklyn  to  within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  the  fort,  exposed  to  the  fire 
of  both  friends  and  foes.  After  he  had  pulled 
a  little  distance  from  his  vessel,  he  seemed  sud- 
denly to  reflect  that  he  had  no  flag  flying,  when 
he  dropped  the  yoke  ropes,  picked  up  a  small 
ensign  from  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and  unfurl- 
ing it  from  its  staff,  which  he  slipped  in  the 
stern  sheets  socket,  he  threw  it  full  to  the 


298  The  American  Navy 

breeze  amid  the  loud  cheers  of  his  men.  "  I 
can  scarcely  describe,"  says  an  officer  of  the 
Confederate  ram  Tennessee,  "  how  I  felt  at  wit- 
nessing this  most  gallant  act.  The  muzzle  of 
our  gun  was  slowTly  raised,  and  the  bolt,  intended 
for  the  Tecumseli,  flew  harmlessly  over  the  heads 
of  that  glorious  boat's  crew,  far  down  in  the 
line  of  our  foes."  After  saving  Ensign  Zettich, 
eight  men,  and  the  pilot,  Nields  turned  and, 
pulling  for  the  fleet,  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
Oneida,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of 
the  action. 

A  Confederate  officer  stationed  in  the  water 
battery  at  Fort  Morgan  says  the  manoeuvring 
of  the  fleet  at  this  juncture,  when  the  vessels 
seemed  to  be  in  inextricable  confusion  and  at 
the  mercy  of  their  guns,  was  a  magnificent  sight. 
When  the  Hartford  dashed  forward,  they  real- 
ized that  a  grand  tactical  movement  had  been 
accomplished. 

The  Hartford  was  nearly  a  mile  ahead  before 
the  line  could  be  straightened,  but  the  vessels 
were  soon  able  to  pour  in  a  storm  of  shell, 
shrapnel,  and  grape,  that  completely  silenced 
the  batteries.  As  soon  as  the  torpedo-ground 
was  passed,  Buchanan  in  the  Tennessee  saw 
Farragut's  blue  flag  and  made  a  dash  to  ram 
the  flagship,  but  it  failed  and  the  ships  merely 
exchanged  shots.  The  Tennessee  then  made  for 
the  Brooklyn,  but  she  sheered  and  avoided  her 
adversary,  receiving,  however,  her  broadside  at 


The  Battle  in  Mobile  Bay         299 

one  hundred  yards,  which  perforated  her  sides, 
doing  great  damage.  The  ram  then  turned  her 
attention  to  the  Richmond,  but  her  shot  passed 
over  that  vessel,  which  also  avoided  her  blow. 
The  Monongahela  then,  gathering  way,  at- 
tempted to  ram  the  Tennessee,  but  the  two 
vessels  collided  at  an  acute  angle,  a  shell  from 
the  ram  exploding  on  the  Kennebec's  berth-deck. 
The  Tennessee  now  made  for  the  Oneida,  run- 
ning under  her  stern  and  delivering  two  broad- 
sides, wounding  Captain  Mullaney,  who  lost  an 
arm  in  the  affray.  The  ram  then  returned  to 
her  anchorage  under  the  guns  of  Fort  Morgan. 

Farragut  then  made  the  signal :  "  Gunboats 
chase  enemy's  gunboats  " ;  and  our  smaller  ves- 
sels at  once  cut  loose  from  their  consorts  and 
started  in  chase,  as  directed.  The  Selma  and 
Gaincs  were  speedily  disposed  of  and  the  Mor- 
gan escaped  up  the  bay  to  Mobile,  leaving  the 
Tennessee  as  the  only  antagonist  to  be  cared 
for  by  the  fleet.  The  ships  now  came  to  anchor 
about  three  miles  up  the  bay,  and  soon  the 
Tennessee  was  seen  steaming  directly  for  the 
flagship. 

Farragut  at  once  signalled :  "  Attack  the 
ram,  not  only  with  guns,  but  bows  on  at  full 
speed."  The  Monongahela  dashed  for  the  ram 
at  full  speed,  but  the  Tennessee,  swerving, 
caused  the  blow  to  strike  obliquely.  The  ram 
at  the  same  time  fired  two  shots  at  her  an- 
tagonist, piercing  her  through  and  through, 


300  The  American  Navy 

while  the  shots  from  the  Monongahela  rolled 
harmlessly  down  her  sloping  sides.  The  Chicka- 
saw  also  gave  the  ram  one  of  her  solid  bolts, 
which  penetrated  but  did  little  damage.  The 
Lackawanna  came  next  at  full  speed,  but  her  bow 
was  stove  in  by  the  impact  fully  three  feet  above 
and  five  feet  below  the  water  line,  while  the 
ram  received  but  a  slight  shock,  and  moved 
steadily  for  the  Hartford.  The  flagship  now 
took  the  aggressive  and,  following  the  Lacka- 
wanna, struck  the  ram  a  fearful  blow,  pouring 
in  a  broadside  at  close  range,  meanwhile,  but 
neither  had  any  effect  whatever. 

But  now  the  monitors  Manhattan,  Winnebago, 
and  Chickasaw  had  closed  on  the  Tennessee  and 
by  steadily  hammering  away  at  her  with  their 
heavy  shot  gradually  shot  away  her  smoke  stack 
and  her  steering  apparatus,  while  her  port 
shutters  were  jammed  and  one  fifteen-inch  bolt 
penetrated  her  armor.  Lieutenant  Wharton, 
one  of  the  officers  of  the  Tennessee,  thus  de- 
scribes the  effect  of  this  first  discharge  at  close 
quarters  of  one  of  the  monstrous  fifteen-inch 
solid  shot  of  the  Manhattan  against  the  casemate 
of  the  Tennessee: 

The  Monongahela,  was  hardly  clear  of  us  when  a 
hideous-looking  monster  came  creeping  up  on  our 
port  side,  whose  slowly  revolving  turret  revealed 
the  cavernous  depths  of  a  mammoth  gun.  "  Stand 
clear  of  the  port  side,"  I  cried.  A  moment  after 
a  thunderous  report  shook  us  all,  while  a  blast  of 


The  Battle  in  Mobile  Bay        301 

dense,  sulphurous  smoke  covered  our  port-holes 
and  four  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  iron,  im- 
pelled by  sixty  pounds  of  powder,  admitted  day- 
light through  our  side,  where  before  it  struck  us 
there  had  been  over  two  feet  of  solid  wood,  covered 
with  five  inches  of  solid  iron.  This  was  the  only 
fifteen-inch  shot  that  struck  us  fair.  It  did  not 
come  through;  the  inside  netting  caught  the 
splinters,  and  there  were  no  casualties  from  it.  I 
was  glad,  however,  to  find  myself  alive  after  that 
shot. 

Flag  Officer  Buchanan  was  sorely  wounded 
in  the  leg  about  this  time  and  the  active  com- 
mand of  the  Tennessee  devolved  upon  the  fleet 
captain,  Commander  J.  D.  Johnston,  who  at 
last  was  compelled  to  surrender  the  ship. 

This  great  victory  cost  the  Union  fleet  three 
hundred  and  thirty-five  lives.  Of  the  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  in  the  Tecumseh  but  seventeen 
were  saved  and  one  hundred  and  thirteen  were 
drowned.  The  other  casualties  in  the  fleet  were 
fifty-two  killed  and  one  hundred  and  seventy 
wounded.  On  August  6th  Fort  Powell  was 
evacuated  and  blown  up,  on  the  8th  Fort  Gaines 
surrendered  to  the  navy,  and  on  the  23d  Fort 
Morgan  surrendered,  and  Mobile  Bay  was  again 
opened  to  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

Having  now  successfully  completed  his  work 
in  the  Gulf,  Farragut  returned  to  the  North  in 
December,  where  he  was  received,  with  every 
possible  honor.  In  April,  1865,  he  was  present 


302  The  American  Navy 

with  President  Lincoln  when  Richmond  was  oc- 
cupied by  our  troops,  and  a  few  days  later  he 
visited  Norfolk,  Virginia,  his  old  home.  On  July 
25,  1865,  Congress  passed  a  law  creating  the 
grade  of  Admiral,  which  had  never  before  ex- 
isted in  our  navy,  and  the  office  was  immediately 
conferred  upon  Farragut.  The  next  year,  July 
28,  1867,  he  was  given  command  of  the  European 
squadron  and  hoisted  his  flag  on  the  Franklin, 
Captain  A.  H.  Pennock,  his  brother-in-law. 

During  the  next  eighteen  months  the  Admiral, 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Farragut,  who  had  special 
permission  to  take  passage  on  board  the  Frank- 
lin, visited  the  principal  ports  of  France,  Russia, 
Sweden,  Norway,  England,  and  the  cities  of  the 
Mediterranean,  receiving  everywhere  marks  of 
the  most  distinguished  consideration  from  the 
principal  courts  of  Europe. 

Admiral  Farragut's  last  official  duty  was  to 
take  charge  of  the  naval  obsequies  of  George 
Peabody,  when  the  remains  arrived  at  Portland 
in  H.  B.  M.  ship  Monarch  in  January,  1870. 
On  August  15,  1870,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine, 
Farragut  quietly  passed  away  surrounded  by  his 
family  and  loving  friends,  including  many  of 
his  comrades  in  arms.  His  remains  were  ac- 
corded a  public  funeral  and  Congress  appro- 
priated twenty  thousand  dollars  for  a  colossal 
bronze  statue  of  the  Admiral,  which  is  placed 
in  Farragut  Square,  Washington. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

UNITED  STATES  SHIPS  CAST  ASHORE  BY  TIDAL 
WAVES  AND  HURRICANES.  THE  "  MONONGA- 
HELA,"  "  DE  SOTO,"  AND  "  WATEREE  "  CAST 
ASHORE  BY  TIDAL  WAVES 

ON  the  afternoon  of  November  18,  1867, 
while  the  U.  S.  S.  Monongahela,  Com- 
modore S.  B.  Bissell  commanding,  was  at 
anchor  off  the  town  of  Frederiksted,  on  the 
Danish  island  of  St.  Croix,  the  weather  being 
calm  and  pleasant  and  the  barometer  standing 
at  30°  15',  a  violent  trembling  of  the  ship  was 
observed,  resembling  the  blowing  off  of  steam 
from  the  boilers.  This  shock  lasted  some  thirty 
seconds  and  immediately  afterward  the  water 
in  the  bay  was  observed  receding  rapidly  from 
the  shore.  The  current,  however,  changed  al- 
most immediately,  and  bore  the  ship  toward  the 
beach,  carrying  out  all  the  chain  cable  through 
the  hawse  pipe,  and  drawing  the  bolts  from 
the  kelson  to  which  it  was  secured,  without  the 
slightest  effect  in  checking  the  terrific  force  with 
which  the  ship  was  carried  toward  the  shore. 

Another  anchor  was  ordered  to  be  let  go,  but 
in  a  few  seconds  the  ship  was  in  too  shoal  water 
for  the  anchor  to  be  of  any  avail.  When  within 

303 


304  The  American  Navy 

a  few  yards  of  the  beach  the  reflux  of  the  tide 
checked  the  ship's  speed  for  a  moment,  and  a 
light  breeze  from  the  land  induced  Commodore 
Bissell  to  set  the  jib  and  foretop-mast  staysail, 
hoping  to  pay  the  ship's  head  off  shore  and  thus 
get  her  into  deeper  water.  But,  to  his  conster- 
nation, when  the  sea  returned  it  came  in  the 
shape  of  a  wall  of  water  twenty-five  or  thirty 
feet  high,  carrying  the  Monongahela  over  the 
warehouses  and  landing  her,  perfectly  upright, 
in  the  first  street  fronting  the  bay,  directly  in 
front  of  the  office  where  Alexander  Hamilton, 
of  Kevolutionary  fame,  served  in  his  boyhood  as 
a  clerk.  The  reflux  of  this  wave,  however, 
carried  the  ship  back  toward  the  beach,  leaving 
her  nearly  perpendicular  on  a  coral  reef,  where 
she  quietly  keeled  over  to  an  angle  of  fifteen 
degrees. 

All  this  was  the  work  of  but  three  minutes 
of  time,  and  soon  after  the  waters  of  the  bay 
subsided  into  their  naturally  quiet  condition, 
leaving  the  ship  and  her  crew  high  and  dry  on 
the  reef.  During  her  progress  toward  the  beach 
the  Monongahela  struck  heavily  two  or  three 
times.  The  first  lurch  carried  the  rifle  gun  on 
the  forecastle  overboard.  Had  the  ship  been 
carried  by  the  wave  ten  or  fifteen  feet  further 
out,  she  must  inevitably  have  gone  on  her  beam- 
ends,  probably  resulting  in  the  entire  destruc- 
tion of  the  vessel  and  in  the  loss  of  many  lives. 
Providentially  only  three  men  were  lost;  these 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         305 

were  in  the  boats  moored  at  the  booms,  at  the 
time  the  earthquake  shock  commenced,  and  these 
boats  were  all  swamped. 

On  learning  the  facts  in  the  case  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy  promptly  despatched  the  U.  S.  bark 
Purveyor  to  St.  Croix,  with  Thomas  Davidson, 
naval  constructor,  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting the  Monongahela  afloat,  if  possible.  The 
necessary  repairs  were  at  once  made  to  the 
bottom,  keel,  and  rudder  part,  the  ship  was 
caulked,  launching  ways  two  hundred  and  forty 
feet  long  were  built,  eight  large  anchors  with 
nearly  one  thousand  fathoms  of  chain  cable  were 
laid  out,  and  the  work  of  moving  the  ship  was 
commenced.  Twenty-five  days  later  the  Monon- 
gahela was  successfully  floated  in  fourteen  and 
a  half  feet  of  water,  and  on  May  21st  the  ship 
steamed  out  of  the  bay,  arriving  at  New  York 
at  8  P.M.  on  June  1st. 

The  Monongahela  was  later  converted  into 
a  sailing  ship,  in  which  shape  she  was  useful 
for  many  years.  One  romantic  incident  of  this 
ship's  wreck  at  St.  Croix  was  the  engagement 
and  subsequent  marriage  of  two  of  the  Monon- 
gahela's  officers  to  two  fair  Danish  ladies  of 
the  island,  who  took  pity  upon  the  forlorn  state 
of  these  shipwrecked  mariners. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  Monongahela  was 
cast  ashore  at  St.  Croix,  the  island  of  St.  Thomas 
was  shaken  by  the  most  violent  earthquake  that 
had  heretofore  been  known  in  the  history  of 


306  The  American  Navy 

the  island.  The  U.  S.  S.  De  Soto  was  swept 
from  moorings  in  the  harbor  by  the  terrific  force 
of  the  tidal  wave  that  followed  sharp  upon  the 
shock.  Both  of  the  ship's  cables  snapped  and 
she  was  thrown  violently  upon  the  iron  piles  of 
a  new  wharf,  lately  constructed,  but,  fortu- 
nately, the  receding  wave  carried  the  De  Soto 
again  into  deep  water  and  she  sustained  little 
injury. 

The  U.  S.  S.  Susquehanna,  also  at  anchor  in 
the  harbor  at  the  time,  fortunately  succeeded 
in  getting  to  sea  from  her  dangerous  position 
without  any  damage. 

THE    "  WATEREB  " 

On  the  13th  of  August,  1868,  the  U.  S.  S. 
Wateree,  Commander  James  H.  Gillis,  and  the 
U.  S.  storeship  Fredonia,  Captain  G.  W.  Doty, 
were  lying  quietly  at  anchor,  off  the  port  of 
Arica,  Peru.  At  5.05  P.M.,  as  the  officers  of  the 
Wateree  were  coming  up  from  dinner  a  rumbling 
noise,  accompanied  by  a  tremulous  motion  of 
the  ship,  was  observed.  This  increased  in  force 
rapidly,  until  it  was  evident  that  an  unusually 
severe  shock  of  an  earthquake  was  taking  place. 
The  officers  rushed  on  deck  and  to  their  dismay 
saw  the  town  of  Arica,  the  plains  around  and 
the  highland  to  the  southward,  enveloped  in 
clouds  of  dust,  while  huge  rocks  were  falling 
from  the  crest  of  the  Moro  into  the  sea.  As  the 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         307 

wind  carried  the  dust  away,  it  was  evident  that 
a  great  number  of  houses  had  fallen,  while  the 
inhabitants  were  seen  frantically  rushing  hither 
and  thither  in  the  street  nearest  the  sea.  The 
whole  city  was  soon  but  a  mass  of  ruins,  scarcely 
a  house  being  left  standing. 

Meanwhile  the  ship  continued  to  shake  fear- 
fully, as  if  in  a  huge  caldron  of  boiling  water. 
Orders  were  at  once  given  to  secure  the  ship's 
battery,  have  the  second  anchor  ready  to  let  go, 
chain  ready  to  veer,  and  the  hatches  battened 
down.  At  5.20,  as  there  were  no  indications 
of  the  sea  coming  in,  Captain  Gillis  had  a  boat 
called  away,  and  taking  Surgeon  Winslow  and 
the  paymaster  he  went  on  shore  to  see  if  he 
could  render  any  assistance  to  the  sufferers. 
There  he  met  Captain  Doty,  who  directed  him 
to  send  on  board  the  Wateree  for  as  many  men 
as  could  be  spared  to  aid  in  extricating  the 
bodies  of  those  buried  in  the  ruins,  among  whom 
was  the  wife  of  Lieutenant-Commander  John- 
son of  the  Wateree.  But  it  was  found  to  be 
impossible  to  get  the  boat  to  the  wharf  again 
as  the  sea  was,  by  this  time,  rapidly  receding. 
Captain  Gillis,  however,  took  a  party  and  for- 
tunately succeeded  in  recovering  the  body  of 
Mrs.  Johnson,  before  the  water  reached  the 
place  where  she  was  buried  in  the  ruins. 

To  return  to  the  Fredonia:  Passed  Assistant 
Surgeon  Dubois  and  the  paymaster  left  the  ship 
about  5.30  to  aid  the  sufferers  on  shore.  At  that 


308  The  American  Navy 

time  the  water  seemed  calm  and  no  rising  or 
falling  was  apparent.  After  landing  the  sur- 
geon sent  the  boat  back  to  the  ship,  but  when 
about  half  way,  she  was  met  by  a  current  which 
carried  her  half  a  mile  to  the  northward  and 
there  encountered  another  current  which  swept 
her  back  almost  alongside  the  Fredonia,  when 
the  men  managed  to  reach  their  ship. 

The  two  survivors  of  that  boat's  crew  said 
they  found  every  preparation  had  been  made 
on  board  the  ship  for  the  expected  tidal  wave. 
Chain  had  been  hauled  on  deck,  ready  for  let- 
ting go  the  sheet  anchor,  hatches  were  battened 
down,  sail  set,  and  the  launch  made  ready  for 
hoisting  out.  In  the  course  of  two  hours, 
the  men  state,  while  still  at  her  anchorage  in 
six  fathoms  of  water,  the  sea  retired  bodily, 
leaving  the  Fredonia  on  the  bottom,  where  she 
at  once  careened  over  on  her  side  and,  in  a  few 
moments,  in  a  great  wall  and  with  the  force  of 
an  Alpine  avalanche,  the  sea  returned,  breaking 
the  ship  into  atoms  and  washing  every  living 
being  off. 

After  this,  they  say,  they  saw  no  one,  save 
the  wardroom  steward,  who,  with  them,  regained 
and  clung  to  a  portion  of  the  wreck  until  about 
3  A.M.,  when  the  steward,  through  fatigue  or 
delirium,  lost  his  hold  and  his  life.  During  the 
whole  night  the  sea  rose  and  fell,  there  being 
seventy-five  distinct  shocks  felt,  and  the  sea  was 
agitated  as  by  a  thousand  adverse  currents, 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore          309 

yet  in  some  way  these  two  sailors  managed  to 
live  it  out  and  after  daybreak,  sorely  battered, 
wounded,  and  almost  exhausted  they  were  res- 
cued by  one  of  the  boats  of  the  Peruvian  cruiser 
America. 

At  5.32  P.M.  of  August  13th  the  Wateree  com- 
menced dragging  her  anchor.  A  second  anchor 
was  let  go  which  brought  the  ship  up.  Four 
men  were  stationed  at  the  wheel  and  after  a  few 
minutes  there  was  a  sudden  reflux  and  the  ship 
swung  to  seaward  and  more  chain  was  veered 
away,  to  ninety  fathoms.  There  was  an  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  sea  for  some  little  time,  the  water 
being  covered  with  floating  de"bris.  Between  6 
and  7  P.M.  there  was  another  tremendous  rising 
of  the  sea  and,  as  it  receded,  the  ship  was  vio- 
lently swung  seaward,  the  deck  stoppers  parted, 
the  chain  flew  rapidly  out  of  the  hawse  pipes, 
tearing  away  the  compartments  between  the 
chain  lockers.  The  ship  now  began  to  drift 
rapidly  seaward,  when  the  sea,  very  suddenly, 
commenced  to  rush  in  again,  a  severe  strain 
came  upon  the  chains  and  the  starboard  one 
parted  close  to  the  hawse  pipe  and  the  ship 
rapidly  drifted  toward  shore. 

At  this  time  the  Peruvian  cruiser  America 
went  on  her  beam  ends  and  terrible  groans  and 
cries  were  heard  proceeding  from  her  crew.  The 
English  bark  Chanarcille  was  also  cast  on  her 
beam  ends  and  wrecked.  At  6.55  the  Wateree 
drifted  shoreward,  among  the  breakers,  and 


310  The  American  Navy 

several  heavy  seas  broke  over  her,  but  did  little 
injury.  Life  lines  were  now  got  up  fore  and 
aft  and  at  7.20  P.M.  the  ship  took  bottom,  close 
up  to  a  high  bank,  about  four  hundred  and 
seventy  yards  from  and  twelve  feet  above  high 
water-mark.  When  first  beached  the  Wateree  was 
lying  about  broadside  to  the  sea  coming  in,  but 
was  finally  washed  around  until  she  lay  head 
on  the  beach. 

Commander  Gillis  reports  that  he  had  the 
height  to  which  the  solid  sea  wave  rose  meas- 
ured and  found  it  to  be  forty-two  feet  and  five 
inches,  while  the  wash  was  from  ten  to  fifteen 
feet  higher.  To  show  the  power  of  the  waves 
it  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  almost  all  the  bodies 
which  were  recovered  were  absolutely  naked. 
Nine  bodies  from  the  Fredonia  were  found, 
recognized,  and  buried,  some  showing  few 
bruises,  others  horribly  mutilated.  Two  Ameri- 
can ladies  lost  their  lives  in  this  calamity,  one 
Mrs.  Dyer,  wife  of  the  executive  officer  of  the 
Fredonia,  the  other  Mrs.  Johnson,  who  was 
crushed  to  death  in  the  arms  of  her  husband, 
while  he  was  bearing  her  from  the  house  on  shore 
in  which  they  were  dwelling,  whilst  by  a  miracle 
he  himself  escaped. 

The  only  persons  saved  from  the  entire  crew 
of  the  Fredonia  were  Captain  G.  W.  Doty,  Pay- 
master W.  W.  Williams,  Passed  Assistant  Sur- 
geon F.  L.  Dubois,  Master-at-Arms  Charles 
Seville,  and  Quartermaster  August  Tanner. 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         311 

It  being  found  by  report  of  a  board  of  sur- 
vey that  the  cost  of  launching  the  Wateree 
would  be  much  greater  than  her  value,  the  ship 
was  sold  as  she  lay,  and  she  was  finally  con- 
verted into  a  summer  hotel. 

THE   LOSS  OF  THE   U.   S.   S.    "  SAGINAW  "   AND  THE   1500- 
MILE  TRIP   OP    HER  BOAT   IN    SEARCH   OP   AID 

On  October  28,  1871,  Commander  Montgomery 
Sicard,  in  command  of  the  U.  S.  S.  Saginaw,  a 
small  side-wheel  steamer  of  three  hundred  tons, 
with  two  guns,  started  from  Midway  Island,  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  for  Ocean  Island,  one  hun- 
dred miles  to  the  westward,  to  rescue  any  seamen 
that  might  have  been  wrecked  there.  Ocean 
Island  was  out  of  the  ordinary  track  of  vessels 
in  that  part  of  the  Pacific,  it  was  uninhabited, 
was  without  water,  and  had  little  vegetation. 
There  would,  therefore,  be  little  chance  of  sus- 
taining life  for  any  one  unfortunate  enough  to 
be  cast  away  upon  its  inhospitable  shores. 

It  was  surely  by  the  very  irony  of  fate  that 
the  gallant  commander  and  the  officers  and  crew 
of  the  Saginaw  were  destined  themselves  to 
spend  an  extended  term  upon  this  desolate  and 
lonely  island. 

On  October  29th,  while  the  Saginaw  was  run- 
ning slowly  in  the  darkness,  she  suddenly  ran 
on  an  uncharted  reef,  outlying  the  island 
for  which  she  was  bound,  and  speedily  became 


The  American  Navy 

a  wreck.  With  great  exertion  and  by  the  ex- 
ercise of  much  energy  and  skill  all  on  board, 
officers,  men,  and  a  wrecking  party  that  had  been 
taken  from  Midway  Island,  were  safely  landed, 
with  a  small  allowance  of  provisions  and 
materials  rescued  from  the  wreck. 

Cast  upon  the  shores  of  an  uninhabited 
island,  with  the  most  scanty  means  of  subsist- 
ence, out  of  the  range  of  travel,  and  more  than 
one  thousand  miles  from  the  nearest  port  of 
refuge  or  relief,  Commander  Sicard  then  dis- 
played the  benefits  of  the  comprehensive  edu- 
cation and  the  careful  training  he  had  received 
in  the  preparation  for  his  naval  career.  A  strict 
system  of  discipline  was  at  once  established,  with 
the  most  careful  rules  for  daily  life.  Whatever 
could  be  saved  from  the  wreck  was  secured  and 
properly  cared  for.  Measures  were  immediately 
taken  to  keep  up  the  health  and  spirits  of  the 
crew.  Fresh  water  was  each  day  distilled  by 
means  of  an  old  boiler,  taken  from  the  wreck, 
and  everything  was  carefully  organized  to  avoid 
the  slightest  waste  of  provisions,  material  or 
labor. 

Upon  examination  the  captain's  gig  was  found 
to  be  the  boat  best  fitted  for  service  and  she 
•was  carefully  overhauled,  repaired,  provisioned, 
and  equipped  for  a  voyage  of  fifteen  hundred 
miles  to  Honolulu,  where  Commander  Sicard 
had  decided  to  send  her  for  assistance.  Lieu- 
tenant John  G.  Talbot,  executive  officer  of  the 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         313 

Saginaw,  volunteered  to  take  charge  of  her  and 
four  men  also  volunteered  to  accompany  him 
on  the  long  and  perilous  trip. 

All  being  ready,  on  November  18th,  the  boat 
left  Ocean  Island  amid  the  hearty  cheers  of 
their  shipmates  and  after  a  tedious  passage  of 
thirty-one  days,  during  which  they  encountered 
terrible  difficulties,  much  privation,  and  in- 
tolerable suffering  they  at  last  arrived,  on 
December  19th,  off  the  Island  of  Kauai,  one  of 
the  Hawaiian  group. 

They  had  previously  lost  their  oars  in  a  storm 
and  in  consequence,  in  attempting  to  land  in 
the  surf,  Lieutenant  Talbot  and  three  of  his  men, 
already  very  much  exhausted  by  privation  and 
suffering,  were  unfortunately  drowned.  William 
Halford,  alone  of  the  boat's  crew,  survived  and 
reached  the  shore  with  the  despatches  from 
Commander  Sicard.  Mr.  Pierce,  our  Minister 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  at  once  chartered  a 
vessel,  which,  with  a  Hawaiian  steamer  tendered 
by  the  local  government,  sailed  for  Ocean  Island 
and  in  due  time  rescued  the  officers  and  crew 
of  the  ISaginaw. 

After  the  departure  of  the  captain's  gig  from 
Ocean  Island,  work  upon  the  construction  of  a 
small  schooner  from  the  wreck  of  the  Saginaw 
was  vigorously  pushed  by  Commander  Sicard, 
and  this  vessel  was  rapidly  approaching  com- 
pletion when  the  rescue  party  from  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  reached  the  shipwrecked  party. 


314  The  American  Navy 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  says  in  his  re- 
port: 

The  death  of  Lieutenant  Talbot  closed  a  career 
of  unusual  promise  and  in  it  the  navy  lost  a  bril- 
liant and  beloved  member,  a  skilful  sailor,  an  ac- 
complished officer  and  a  Christian  gentleman.  It 
is  difficult  to  estimate  how  much  of  danger  and 
suffering,  perhaps  of  death,  was  saved  through  the 
courage  and  endurance  of  that  gallant  boat's  crew. 

THE    HURRICANE    AT    SAMOA   AND   THE    LOSS   OP   THE 
AMERICAN   SQUADRON 

Few  of  the  great  calamities  at  sea  can  be 
compared  in  tragic  interest  and  varied  dramatic 
effects  with  the  catastrophe  at  Apia,  island  of 
Samoa,  in  March,  1889.  Early  in  the  year,  in 
consequence  of  the  increasing  friction  between 
the  German  officials  and  our  consular  repre- 
sentatives in  Samoa,  the  U.  S.  ships  Nipsic  and 
Vandalia  were  hurried  over  to  Apia,  followed 
shortly  by  Eear  Admiral  Kimberly  in  the 
Trenton.  All  these  vessels  came  to  the  support 
of  the  Adams,  Commander  Richard  Leary,  who 
had  intervened  with  his  vessel  to  prevent  the 
German  cruiser  Adler  from  shelling  the  village 
of  Apia.  Commander  Leary  notified  Captain 
Fritze,  of  that  vessel,  "  If  you  fire  upon  the 
village  you  must  fire  through  the  ship  which  I 
have  the  honor  to  command  and  I  shall  not  be 
answerable  for  the  consequences."  This  speech 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         315 

gave  to  the  over-zealous  German  officer  pause  for 
thought  and  meanwhile,  to  Leary's  infinite  re- 
lief, Admiral  Kimberly  arrived  on  the  scene 
with  the  Trenton. 

The  Trenton  arrived  on  the  llth  of  March; 
on  the  12th  and  13th  the  wind  had  been  steadily 
freshening  all  the  time  from  the  south  but,  as 
yet,  there  was  little  sea.  The  barometer  was 
low  and  in  anticipation  of  heavy  weather  the 
Admiral  ordered  lowrer  yards  sent  down,  the 
topmasts  housed,  steam  raised,  and  storm  main- 
and  mizzen-staysails  bent.  As  just  before  the 
arrival  of  the  Trenton  there  had  been  heavy 
gales  at  Apia,  the  local  pilots  did  not  expect 
a  hurricane,  but  predicted  merely  heavy  rains. 

Admiral  Kimberly,  however,  was  not  quite 
so  optimistic,  yet  he  could  not  but  believe  that 
with  steam  up,  four  heavy  anchors  dowrn,  and 
his  top-hamper  housed,  he  could  safely  ride  out 
any  probable  gale — he  did  not  anticipate  a 
hurricane. 

At  midnight  on  the  15th  the  Trenton  was 
riding  to  her  four  anchors,  with  long  scope  of 
chains,  with  steam  to  relieve  the  straining 
cables,  hatches  battened  down,  all  hands  on 
deck,  and  men  at  the  wheel.  The  wind  was 
howling,  yet  the  ship  rode  steadily,  considering 
the  very  heavy  seas  that  were  rushing  into  the 
harbor  and  steadily  increasing  in  power  and 
magnitude  with  the  wind.  When  striking  the 
ship  great  sheets  of  water  were  thrown  up  from 


316  The  American  Navy 

the  bows  and  borne  by  the  wind  over  the  lower 
mastheads,  then  falling  on  deck  deluged  it 
faster  than  the  scuppers  could  free  it.  The  air 
was  filled  with  foam  and  spray,  so  that  in 
the  gusts  one  could  hardly  look  to  windward, 
for  the  eyes  could  not  bear  the  pain  of  the 
constant  beating  spatter.  On  shore  people  had 
to  protect  their  eyes  and  faces  by  holding  up 
shingles,  or  whatever  they  could  find,  to  keep 
from  being  blinded  by  the  drifting  sand  borne 
along  by  the  gale. 

This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  a  re- 
port came  from  the  main  deck  that  the  star- 
board bridle  port  was  stove  in  by  the  sea,  killing 
one  of  the  crew.  As  this  port  was  about  four 
feet  square,  such  an  opening  meant  incalculable 
danger  to  the  ship,  and  it  required  immediate 
attention,  though  certainly  attended  with  great 
risk.  Gunner  Westfall  in  his  report  says: 

At  7.30  A.M.  I  heard  the  word  passed  that  the 
starboard  bridle  port  on  the  gun-deck  had  been  burst 
in  by  the  sea,  and  I  knew  that  the  ship  was  gone 
if  we  did  not  keep  the  water  out  in  some  way.  I 
called  for  volunteers  and  went  forward.  Every 
plunge  the  ship  made,  water  came  pouring  in 
through  a  space  six  feet  by  four,  completely  flood- 
ing the  gun-deck.  I  ordered  capstan  bars  and  ham- 
mocks to  be  brought  at  once,  and  we  began  our 
fight  for  life.  A  capstan  bar  was  needed  outside 
the  ship  to  hold  in  pla.ce  the  material  that  we  were 
using  to  block  the  port  with,  and  with  the  help  of 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         317 

one  man  I  got  it  in  place;  then  I  saw  that  the 
two  tackles  must  be  hooked  to  the  bar  so  that  we 
could  pull  our  barricade  in  place.  No  one  would 
go  out  to  put  the  straps  on  the  bar,  and  I  said, 
"  Well,  I  will  go."  The  men  begged  me  not  to  at- 
tempt it,  and  even  tried  to  hold  me  back;  but  I 
went  out,  at  what  I  thought  a  favorable  opportu- 
nity, and  did  the  work.  It  was  not  a  moment  too 
soon,  however,  as  a  monstrous  sea  came  in  as  I 
was  being  hauled  back,  and  God  help  me  if  I  had 
been  five  seconds  later.  Then  we  got  a  table,  and, 
standing  it  up  with  both  tackles  hooked  behind,  we 
began  to  pile  hammocks  in  front,  and  for  five  hours 
we  had  the  most  desperate  struggle.  As  every  sea 
came  in  we  would  be  knocked  down,  and,  what  was 
worse,  some  of  the  barricade  would  be  driven  in. 
Oh,  God !  what  discouragement !  I  did  n't  dare  to 
give  in,  however,  for  if  I  did  the  men  would  give 
up,  and  all  would  be  lost,  so  we  worked  on.  After 
each  sea  knocked  us  flat,  we  would  get  up  and  with 
a  cheer  make  a  rush  for  the  barricade,  stuffing  in 
mattresses  and  using  capstan  bars  to  ram  them 
home  with.  At  last  we  got  a  good  barricade  built, 
but  still  the  water  came  in  fearfully,  so  we  built 
another  barricade  of  lumber,  abaft  the  first,  and 
forced  the  water  to  run  out  through  the  water- 
closet  chutes,  and  thus  very  little  water  ran  aft. 

Now  comes  some  one  saying,  "  Mr.  Westfall,  the 
ventilator  holes  are  open  on  the  spar-deck  and  the 
water  is  pouring  down  them,"  so  I  called  Boat- 
swain's Mate  Gray  and  asked  him  if  he  would  go  on 
the  forecastle  with  me,  and  nail  some  canvas  over 
the  hole.  We  went  up  on  the  spar-deck,  and  crawled 
along  to  the  forecastle  and  got  to  work.  About  one 


318  The  American  Navy 

minute  afterward  we  were  both  struck  by  a  sea 
and  were  hurled  one  hundred  feet  aft.  When  I  re- 
covered my  senses  two  men  were  dragging  me  out 
from  a  mass  of  wreckage  near  the  main-mast.  I 
tried  to  stand;  no  use,  the  last  sea  had  been  too 
much;  I  was  half  drowned  and  my  right  foot  was 
hurt.  Thus  ended  this  trying  incident. 

All  this  time  the  sea  was  increasing  until  the 
waves  were  running  mountains  high  and,  yield- 
ing to  the  tremendous  strain,  the  Trenton's 
chain  cables  parted,  one  after  another,  until 
at  last  the  ship  was  riding  to  the  starboard 
sheet  anchor  alone,  with  ninety  fathoms  of  chain 
out.  At  7  A.M.  the  wheel  was  wrecked  with  a 
crash,  the  two  helmsmen  were  thrown  over  it, 
and  their  legs  were  broken,  beside  suffering  other 
injuries.  This  was  caused  by  the  breaking  of 
the  rudder-post  and  the  unshipping  of  the 
rudder.  From  this  time  on  there  was  nothing 
to  be  done  to  control  the  drift  of  the  ship  but 
through  the  use  of  the  storm  try-sails.  Water 
was  also  gaining  in  the  hold  over  the  pumps 
and  before  10  A.M.  the  furnace  fires  were  ex- 
tinguished and  the  Admiral  knew  that  losing 
the  use  of  the  steam  pumps  the  water  could  not 
be  kept  down  by  the  hand  pumps,  as  it  was 
coming  in  through  the  hawse  holes  in  volumes. 

The  hand  pumps  were,  nevertheless,  manned 
and  four  hundred  pairs  of  strong  arms  kept  them 
going  to  the  chanty  "  Blow  a  man  down,"  when 
on  looking  astern  into  the  thick  curtain  of  misty 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore          319 

haze  the  hull  of  a  large  ship  was  discerned  ad- 
vancing slowly,  very  slowly,  now  up  high  on  the 
crest  of  the  sea,  and  then  down  so  low  that 
only  her  tops  could  be  seen.  It  was  the  Eng- 
lish ship-of-war  Calliope  bearing  directly  down 
upon  the  Trenton.  Taking  her  chances  of  being 
sunk  by  collision  at  her  anchors,  or  running  the 
gauntlet  of  the  reefs  for  the  open  sea,  she  had 
slipped  her  cables  and  passed  the  Trenton  so 
closely  as  to  put  her  foreyard  over  the  deck  of 
the  American  ship  and  as  she  lifted  to  the  sea 
and  rolled  to  port  she  just  cleared  the  Trenton, 
and  managed  also  to  clear  the  outside  reef  by 
some  sixty  yards. 

The  English  Captain  Kane  writes: 

Throughout  the  whole  gale  nothing  affected  the 
crew  of  the  Calliope  and  myself  so  much  as  when 
passing  the  American  flagship  Trenton,  which  was 
lying  helpless  with  nothing  to  guard  her  from  com- 
plete destruction,  the  American  Admiral  and  his 
men  gave  us  three  such  ringing  cheers  that  they 
called  forth  tears  from  many  of  our  eyes;  they 
pierced  deep  into  my  heart,  and  I  will  ever  re- 
member that  mighty  outburst  of  fellow  feeling, 
which  I  felt  came  from  the  bottom  of  the  hearts 
of  the  noble  and  gallant  Admiral  and  his  men. 
Every  man  on  board  the  Calliope  felt  as  I  did,  it 
made  us  work  to  win.  God  bless  America  and  her 
noble  sailors. 

The  London  Telegraph  said  of  this  incident: 


320  The  American  Navy 

We  do  not  know  in  all  naval  records  any  sound 
which  makes  a  finer  music  upon  the  ear  than  that 
cheer  of  the  Trenton's  men:  it  was  distressed  man- 
hood greeting  triumphant  manhood,  the  doomed 
saluting  the  saved ;  it  was  pluckier  and  more  human 
than  any  cry  ever  raised  upon  the  deck  of  a  vic- 
torious line-of-battle-ship ;  it  never  can  be  forgot- 
ten and  never  must  be  forgotten  by  Englishmen  in 
speaking  of  Americans. 

The  Trenton  slowly  dragged  her  laboring  way 
all  the  remainder  of  that  long  day  to  the  end 
of  the  anchorage,  fortunately  not  striking  the 
reefs  as  she  swerved  from  one  side  of  the  harbor 
to  the  other,  and,  after  pounding  on  the  hard 
coral  bottom,  the  ship  gradually  brought  up  and 
gave  up  her  life  alongside  of  her  submerged 
sister,  the  ~Vandalia,  whose  masts,  bowsprit,  and 
forecastle  were  the  only  visible  parts  of  her 
left  above  the  water.  Her  lower  rigging  and 
tops  were  crowded  with  her  crew  and  officers, 
who  were  rescued  by  sending  rockets  with  lines 
attached  into  her  tops,  thereby  establishing  con- 
nection between  the  two  ships.  When  the 
Trenton  finally  brought  up  on  the  beach  along- 
side the  Vandalia,  she  gradually  settled  down 
and  sunk  by  her  side. 

The  Vandalia  lost  forty-three  men  and  four 
officers,  including  her  commander,  Captain  C. 
M.  Schoonmaker,  who  was  drowned.  The  school- 
master of  the  Vandalia  writes: 

About  3  P.M.  after  our  ship  struck,  there  were 


U.  S.  Ships  Cast  Ashore         321 

left  on  the  poop  Captain  Schoonmaker,  Lieutenants 
J.  W.  Carlin  and  A.  W.  Sutton,  Paymaster  Arms, 
and  about  eight  of  the  crew,  the  rest  having  taken 
to  the  rigging.  The  paymaster  received  a  cut  over 
his  right  eye,  which  seemed  to  stun  him  and  the 
next  large  wave,  coming  high,  broke  his  hold  on 
the  rail  and  carried  him  away.  The  next  to  go 
was  Lieutenant  of  Marines  Sutton.  He  seemed 
stunned  and  lay  down  on  the  deck  making  no  ef- 
fort to  save  himself  and  he  was  carried  away  on 
the  top  of  a  swell.  Captain  Schoonmaker  lay  be- 
tween the  Gatling  gun  and  the  howitzer,  on  the 
port  side.  One  of  the  legs  of  the  Gatling  broke 
and  he  was  fearful  of  its  falling  and  crushing  him. 
Lieutenant  Carlin,  back  of  the  captain,  rendered 
all  the  assistance  possible,  but  it  was  of  no  use. 
Sea  after  sea  breaking  over  him  gradually  weak- 
ened him,  until  a  great  wave  striking  us  broke 
the  captain's  hold  and  he  was  swept  away  into 
the  sea,  striking  the  rail  as  he  went  over.  The 
succeeding  wave  took  him  and  he  was  seen  no  more. 


The  Nipsic,  which  had  lost  seven  men, 
was  finally  hauled  off  the  beach  and  saved 
by  the  efforts  of  her  executive  officer,  Lieu- 
tenant J.  M.  Hawley.  The  surviving  officers 
and  crews  of  the  Trenton,  Vandalia,  and  Nipsic 
were  sent  to  San  Francisco  in  a  chartered 
steamer. 

The  German  Adler  was  lifted  by  the  waves 
over  the  edge  of  the  reef  and  landed  over  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  on  its  table-like  surface, 


322  The  American  Navy 

on  her  side,  with  her  deck  facing  the  shore  and 
perpendicular  to  the  reef  on  which  she  lay. 
Part  of  her  keel  was  torn  off  and  she  lost  twenty 
men. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE   "  MAINE  " 

NO  record  of  romantic  incidents  in  the  history 
of  the  American  Navy  would  be  complete 
that  omitted  an  account  of  the  destruction  of 
the  battleship  Maine  in  the  harbor  of  Havana  in 
February,  1898 — an  incident  that  became  the 
prelude  to  a  momentous  struggle  that  six  months 
later  left  Spain  stripped  of  all  her  colonial  pos- 
sessions in  both  hemispheres  and  with  her  naval 
power  annihilated. 

For  two  years  the  United  States  Government 
had  been  striving  zealously  to  fulfil  her  treaty 
obligations  towards  Spain,  and  only  at  the  last 
was  our  ambassador  authorized  to  demand  the 
recall  of  Captain-General  Weyler  from  Cuba 
under  threat  of  our  armed  intervention.  With 
an  ill  grace  Spain  acceeded  to  our  demands  and 
Captain  General  Blanco  was  sent  October  2, 
1897,  to  relieve  Weyler. 

In  April,  1897,  the  Maine,  under  command 
of  Captain  Charles  Dwight  Sigsbee,  was  ordered 
to  the  North  Atlantic  squadron,  commanded  by 
Rear  Admiral  Montgomery  Sicard.  On  October 
12th,  she  was  sent  to  Port  Royal,  where  she 
remained  until  November  15th,  when  she  was 

323 


324  The  American  Navy 

ordered  to  Norfolk,  and,  on  December  12th, 
proceeded  to  Key  West,  with  orders  to  be  in 
readiness  to  steam  to  Havana  at  a  moment's 
notice. 

During  the  last  months  of  the  year  1897,  soon 
after  the  recall  of  Captain-General  Weyler,  our 
consular  representatives  in  Cuba  pointed  out  to 
the  home  government  the  desirability  of  a  visit 
to  Cuban  waters  of  one  or  more  of  our  national 
ships  to  accustom  the  people  to  the  presence  of 
our  flag  and  our  warships  in  the  fulfilment  of 
their  mission  of  protection  to  American  citizens 
and  their  interests.  In  compliance  with  these 
requests,  and  after  conference  with  the  Spanish 
authorities,  it  was  decided  on  January  24,  1898, 
to  send  the  Maine  to  Havana,  and  our  Govern- 
ment was  officially  notified  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  Spanish  Government  to  send  their 
armored  cruiser  'Vizcaya  to  New  York,  as  a 
return  of  our  courtesy. 

On  January  25th,  the  Maine  entered  the  port 
of  Havana,  and  she  was  taken  by  a  government 
pilot  to  a  mooring-buoy  where  no  man-of-war 
had  ever  before  been  moored,  and  but  rarely  a 
merchant  ship.  During  the  next  few  days  Cap- 
tain Sigsbee  and  his  officers  made  the  usual 
visits  of  ceremony  upon  the  Captain-General  and 
other  high  officials  of  Havana,  and  these  visits 
were  returned;  but  a  noticeable  lack  of  warmth 
in  the  ceremonious  visits  was  observed,  while 
the  attitude  of  the  Spanish  residents  of  Havana 


The  Destruction  of  the  "Maine"    325 

to  our  officers  was  distinctly  reserved  and  in 
some  cases  almost  insulting.  It  was  made  very 
evident  in  many  ways  that  the  visit  of  the  Maine 
was  anything  but  welcome. 

On  February  15th,  at  9.40  P.M.,  while  several 
officers  were  on  shore,  and  nearly  all  the  crew 
were  asleep  in  their  hammocks,  a  terrific  ex- 
plosion, followed  by  a  second  shock,  tore  the 
forward  part  of  the  Maine  into  pieces,  causing 
her  to  sink  almost  instantly  to  the  bottom,  in 
thirty  feet  of  water,  with  the  loss  of  two  officers 
and  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  men  out  of  a 
total  of  twenty-six  officers  and  three  hundred 
and  thirty-one  men. 

Captain  Sigsbee  was  sitting  at  the  table  in  his 
cabin,  just  closing  a  letter  to  his  family,  when 
he  felt  the  crash  of  the  explosion.  He  says  in 
his  report: 

It  was  a  bursting,  rending,  and  crashing  sound, 
or  roar,  of  immense  volume,  largely  metallic  in  its 
character.  It  was  succeeded  by  a  metallic  sound — 
probably  of  falling  d6bris — a  trembling  and  lurch- 
ing motion  of  the  vessel,  then  an  impression  of 
subsidence,  attended  by  an  eclipse  of  the  electric 
lights  and  intense  darkness  within  the  cabin.  I 
knew  immediately  that,  the  Maine  had  been  blown 
up  and  that  she  was  sinking.  I  hurried  to  the 
starboard  cabin  ports,  thinking  it  might  be  neces- 
sary for  me  to  make  my  exit  in  that  way.  Upon 
looking  out  I  decided  that  I  could  go  by  the  passage 
leading  to  the  superstructure.  I  therefore  took  the 


326  The  American  Navy 

latter  route,  feeling  my  way  along  and  steadying 
myself  by  the  bulkheads.  The  superstructure  was 
filled  with  smoke  and  it  was  dark.  Nearing  the 
outer  entrance  I  met  Private  Anthony,  the  orderly 
at  the  cabin-door  at  the  time.  He  ran  into  me,  and, 
as  I  remember,  apologized  in  some  fashion,  and 
reported  to  me  that  the  ship  had  been  blown  up 
and  was  sinking. 

Captain  Sigsbee  reached  the  quarter-deck, 
where  he  found  the  executive  officer,  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Richard  Wainwright,  and  other 
officers,  and  learned  that  the  exact  time  of  the 
explosion  was  9.49  P.M.  He  then  proceeded  to 
the  poop-deck  and  ordered  the  executive  officer 
to  post  sentries  all  around  the  ship,  "  but  soon 
saw  there  were  no  marines  available  and  no 
place  forward  to  post  them." 

About  this  time  fire  broke  out  in  the  mass 
forward,  over  the  central  superstructure,  and  the 
only  two  remaining  boats  were  lowered  to  assist 
in  saving  the  wounded,  in  conjunction  with  the 
boats  that  had  by  that  time  arrived  from  the 
steamer  City  of  Washington  and  the  Spanish 
frigate  Alphonso  XII.,  which  were  at  once  sent 
to  the  relief  of  the  Maine. 

The  shocking  news  of  this  disaster  appeared 
in  all  the  principal  newspapers  of  the  United 
States  on  the  morning  of  February  16th,  in  a 
brief  despatch  from  Captain  Sigsbee  to  the  Navy 
Department,  in  which  he  prudently  added  to 
the  particulars  given  the  words,  "  Public 


The  Destruction  of  the  "Maine"    327 

opinion  should  be  suspended  until  further 
report." 

Since  that  other  telegram  that  brought  to  the 
North  the  news  of  the  opening  of  the  Confed- 
erate batteries  upon  Fort  Sumter,  thirty-seven 
years  before,  nothing  had  so  stirred  the  hearts 
of  the  American  people  as  this  appalling  ca- 
lamity. The  lesson  of  self-control  conveyed  in 
Captain  Sigsbee's  calm  words  was  indeed  needed 
to  prevent  a  great  popular  outburst  of  rage  at 
that  moment.  But  with  admirable  restraint  the 
people  and  tbeir  representatives  in  Congress 
awaited  further  developments. 

Preparations  were  at  once  made  for  an  ex- 
pert examination  of  the  wreck  of  the  Maine,  and 
Rear  Admiral  Sicard,  commanding  the  squad- 
ron at  Key  West,  presided  in  a  Court  of  In- 
quiry, composed  of  Captain  W.  T.  Sampson  of 
the  Iowa;  Captain  French  E.  Chadwick  of  the 
New  York;  Lieutenant-Commander  William  P. 
Potter,  executive  officer  of  the  New  York;  and 
Lieutenant-Commander  Adolph  Marix  as  Judge 
Advocate.  Divers  were  sent  to  Havana  and 
professional  wreckers  from  New  York  were  se- 
cured. After  a  deliberate  and  very  careful  ex- 
amination, a  report  was  sent  to  the  President, 
and  by  him  communicated  to  Congress  on  March 
28th. 

After  a  technical  description  of  the  condition 
in  which  the  board  found  the  hull  of  the  Maine, 
the  report  says: 


328  The  American  Navy 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Court,  this  effect  could  have 
been  produced  only  by  the  explosion  of  a  mine 
situated  under  the  bottom  of  the  ship  at  about 
frame  eighteen  and  somewhat  on  the  port  side  of 
the  ship. 

The  Court  finds  that  the  loss  of  the  Maine  was 
not  in  any  respect  due  to  fault  or  negligence  on 
the  part  of  any  of  the  officers  or  members  of  the 
crew  of  said  vessel. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  Court  the  Maine  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  explosion  of  a  submarine  mine,  which 
caused  the  partial  explosion  of  two  or  more  of  her 
forward  magazines. 

The  Court  also  found  "that  no  evidence  has 
been  obtainable  fixing  the  responsibility  for  the 
destruction  of  the  Maine  upon  any  person  or 
persons." 

The  testimony  taken  before  the  Court  was 
given  with  the  report,  and  the  almost  universal 
opinion  of  the  country  was  confirmed  that  the 
Maine  had  been  deliberately  and  treacherously 
destroyed  by  the  Spaniards.  That  this  opinion 
was  shared  by  the  Administration  was  shown 
by  the  fact  that  closely  following  upon  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  report  of  the  Court  of  Inquiry,  on 
April  llth,  the  Senate  Committee  on  Foreign 
Kelations  sent  in  a  report  endeavoring  to  fix 
the  responsibility  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Maine.  This  report  says: 

It  is  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  having  con- 
sidered the  testimony  submitted  to  the  Board  of 


The  Destruction  of  the  "  Maine  "    329 

Inquiry,  in  connection  with  further  testimony  taken 
by  the  committee  and  with  the  relevant  and  es- 
tablished facts  presented  by  the  events  of  the  last 
three  years,  that  the  destruction  of  the  Maine  was 
compassed  either  by  the  official  act  of  the  Spanish 
authorities  or  was  made  possible  by  a  negligence 
on  their  part  so  willing  and  gross  as  to  be  equiva- 
lent in  culpability  to  positive  criminal  action.  .  .  . 
It  is  established  that  the  Maine  was  destroyed  by 
the  explosion  of  a  submarine  mine,  in  position  un- 
der her  in  a  Spanish  harbor,  at  a  place  where  she 
had  been  moored  to  a  buoy  by  the  express  direction 
and  guidance  of  the  Spanish  authorities.  Explo- 
sive contrivances  of  this  character  are  almost  ex- 
clusively government  agencies  of  warfare.  There 
is  no  operation  of  a  pacific  character  for  which  they 
can  be  employed,  excepting  the  removal  of  wrecks 
or  of  harbor  obstructions.  They  are  not  to  be  had 
in  any  place  of  private  sale.  .  .  .  The  entire  con- 
trivance is  a  mechanism  of  a  somewhat  complicated 
character,  not  generally  understood  except  by  spe- 
cial manufacturers  or  by  military  or  naval  officers 
who  have  been  instructed  how  to  operate  it.  Such 
mines,  when  sunk  in  harbors,  are  almost  invariably 
discharged  by  an  electric  current  conducted  over 
a  wire  leading  from  the  engine  of  destruction  to 
some  place  on  the  shore  where  a  battery  can  be 
housed,  guarded,  and  attended  by  trained  operators. 
They  are  now  placed,  or  made  ready  to  be  placed, 
in  all  important  harbors;  it  may  fairly  be  presumed 
that  they  had  been  placed  in  the  harbor  of  Havana, 
the  history  of  the  last  three  years  being  considered. 

Soon  after,   President  McKinley  sent  in  his 


33°  The  American  Navy 

famous  message  to  Congress  on  Cuban  affairs, 
asking  Congress  to  empower  him  to  end  hostil- 
ities in  Cuba  and  to  secure  the  establishment 
of  a  stable  government,  capable  of  maintaining 
order  and  observing  its  international  obligations. 
This  message  was  referred  to  the  Foreign 
Relations  Committees  of  both  Houses,  and  on 
April  13th  they  reported  as  follows: 

Resolved,  That  the  President  is  hereby  authorized 
and  directed  to  intervene  at  once  to  stop  the  war 
in  Cuba,  to  the  end  and  with  the  purpose  of  se- 
curing permanent  peace  and  order  there,  and  es- 
tablishing by  the  free  action  of  the  people  thereof 
a  stable  and  independent  government  of  their  own 
in  the  island  of  Cuba;  and  the  President  is  hereby 
authorized  and  empowered  to  use  the  land  and 
naval  forces  of  the  United  States  to  execute  the 
purpose  of  this  resolution. 

This  resolution  passed  the  House  by  a  vote 
of  324  to  19  and  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  where 
a  new  report  was  presented  and  sent  back  to 
the  House  for  concurrence;  but  it  was  not  until 
April  18th  that  an  agreement  was  reached  be- 
tween the  two  bodies,  by  which  the  Senate 
majority  resolutions  were  adopted,  as  follows: 

Whereas,  The  abhorrent  conditions  which  have  ex- 
isted for  more  than  three  years  in  the  island  of 
Cuba,  so  near  our  own  borders,  have  shocked  the 
moral  sense  of  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
have  been  a  disgrace  to  Christian  civilization,  cul- 


The  Destruction  of  the  "  Maine  "    331 

minating  as  they  have  in  the  destruction  of  a  United 
States  battle-ship  with  two  hundred  and  sixty-six 
of  its  officers  and  crew,  while  on  a  friendly  visit 
in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  and  cannot  longer  be  en- 
dured, as  has  been  set  forward  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States  in  his  message  to  Congress  of 
April  11,  1898,  upon  which  the  action  of  Congress 
was  invited:  Therefore, 

Resolved  ly  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
tatives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress 
assembled: 

First.  That  the  people  of  the  island  of  Cuba  are, 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent. 

Second.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States 
to  demand  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
does  hereby  demand,  that  the  Government  of  Spain 
at  once  relinquish  its  authority  and  government  in 
the  island  of  Cuba,  and  withdraw  its  land  and 
naval  forces  from  Cuba  and  Cuban  waters. 

Third.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
be,  and  he  hereby  is,  directed  and  empowered  to 
use  the  entire  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  call  into  the  actual  service  of  the 
United  States  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  to 
such  extent  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  these 
resolutions  into  effect. 

Fourth.  That  the  United  States  hereby  disclaims 
any  disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty, 
jurisdiction,  or  control  over  said  island  except  for 
the  pacification  thereof,  and  assert  its  determina- 
tion, when  this  is  accomplished,  to  leave  the  govern- 
ment and  control  of  the  island  to  its  people. 

These  joint   resolutions  were  adopted  by  42 


33  2  The  American  Navy 

to  35  in  the  Senate  and  311  to  6  in  the 
House.  They  were  approved  by  the  President  on 
April  20th,  and  a  copy  was  sent  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st  to  the  Spanish  Minister 
Seiior  Polo  y  Bernabe,  who  at  once  asked  for 
his  passports  and  left  the  country.  The  Span- 
ish ministry,  having  heard  of  the  passage  of  the 
resolutions  by  Congress,  sent  our  Minister  his 
passports  on  April  21st,  and  war  with  Spain 
was  declared  on  April  25,  1898,  as  follows: 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  United  States  of  America  in 
Congress  assembled: 

First.  That  war  be,  and  the  same  is,  hereby  de- 
clared to  exist,  and  that  war  has  existed  since  the 
twenty-first  day  of  April  anno  Domini  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety-eight,  including  said  day,  be- 
tween the  United  States  of  America  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Spain. 

Second.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States 
be,  and  he  hereby  is,  directed  and  empowered  to 
use  the  entire  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  call  into  actual  service  of  the  United 
States  the  militia  of  the  several  States,  to  such 
extent  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  this  act  into 
effect. 

Thus,  within  sixty-four  days  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Maine  in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  Spain 
and  the  United  States  had  entered  into  a  con- 
test of  arms  that  ended  eighty-two  days  later — 
on  August  12,  1898,  when  the  protocol  of  peace 


An  Afternoon  at  Cardenas         333 

was  signed  in  Washington  by  M.  Jules  Cambon, 
the  French  Ambassador,  acting  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  Spanish  Government.  The  ter- 
mination of  hostilities  was  followed  by  a  treaty 
of  peace,  by  which  Spain  was  forever  divested 
of  all  her  remaining  American  colonies,  as  well 
as  her  possessions  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and 
Guam,  while  her  navy  had  been  practically  swept 
from  the  ocean  in  the  battles  of  Manila  Bay 
and  Santiago.  Perhaps  never  before  in  history 
had  retribution  been  so  swift  and  so  decisive, 
and  Spain  had  certainly  very  good  cause  to 
"  Remember  the  Maine! " 

AN    AFTERNOON    AT    CARDENAS 

During  the  month  of  May,  1898,  the  gun- 
boat Machias,  Commander  John  F.  Merry,  the 
Wilmington,  Commander  C.  C.  Todd,  the 
torpedo-boat  Winslow,  Lieutenant  John  B. 
Bernadou,  and  the  revenue  cutter  Hudson, 
Lieutenant  F.  H.  Newcomb,  were  blockading 
the  coast  of  Cuba,  from  Cardenas  to  Matanzas. 
It  had  become  known  to  the  blockaders  that 
three  small  Spanish  gunboats  were  lying  at  the 
wharves  in  Cardenas,  and  the  matter  of  getting 
at  these  vessels  was  the  current  topic  of  dis- 
cussion among  the  officers  of  the  little  fleet. 

Cardenas  Bay  is  a  great  shoal  water  lagoon, 
twenty-five  miles  long  and  six  wide,  shut  off 
from  the  sea  by  a  long  peninsula  on  the  west 
and  having  an  irregular  chain  of  small  islands. 


334  The  American  Navy 

The  main  channel  had  but  ten  and  one  half 
feet  of  water  at  one  place  and  but  fifteen  feet 
in  several  miles  of  its  course,  so  that  the  Span- 
ish ships  felt  reasonably  safe  at  their  pier.  But, 
after  consultation  with  the  commanding  officers, 
Commander  Merry,  as  senior  officer,  on  May 
9th  sent  the  Winslow  into  the  bay  to  endeavor 
to  draw  the  enemy.  Lieutenant  Bernadou  ran 
his  vessel  up  to  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the  town 
and  opened  fire  upon  it  with  his  little  one- 
pounders.  The  Machias  followed  her  to  the 
chain  of  islands,  where  the  water  shoals,  which 
was  as  far  as  it  was  prudent  for  her  to  go.  The 
fire  of  the  Winslow  seemed  to  exasperate  the 
enemy  and  one  of  the  Spanish  gunboats  steamed 
out  in  chase.  Retreating  slowly  the  Winslow 
enticed  the  gunboat  out  until  she  came  within 
long  range  of  the  Machias,  when  Commander 
Merry  opened  fire,  landing  a  six-pound  shell  at 
the  first  shot.  The  Spaniard  at  once  turned  and 
made  the  best  of  her  way  back  to  her  pier.  A 
channel  mine  was  exploded  at  the  same  time 
near  the  Winslow,  but  it  did  no  damage. 

On  the  morning  of  the  llth  a  channel,  not 
often  used,  was  sounded  out  and  at  one  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  the  Wilmington,  the  Winslow, 
and  the  Hudson  passed  through  this  and  ran 
up  the  bay  toward  the  town,  the  Winslow  lead- 
ing, as  she  had  the  lightest  draught  of  the  three 
vessels.  Arriving  at  a  point  within  a  mile  and 
a  half  of  the  town  the  Wilmington  stopped,  and 


An  Afternoon  at  Cardenas         335 

Lieutenant  Bernadou  was  ordered  to  run  in 
and  cut  out  one  of  the  Spanish  gunboats.  It  was 
no  light  task  for  the  little  torpedo-boat  to  under- 
take, to  run  a  mile  and  a  half  to  cut  out  a 
vessel,  larger  than  herself,  defended  by  the  guns 
of  two  other  gunboats  and  by  the  troops  on 
shore,  but  Bernadou  did  not  hesitate  a  moment 
and  drove  the  Winslow  at  full  speed  for  half 
a  mile  toward  the  town.  Then  he  found  his 
ship  running  between  lines  of  little  red  buoys, 
which  seemed  to  mark  a  channel,  but  he  was 
soon  undeceived  when  a  shore  battery  opened 
fire  with  an  accuracy  that  showed  the  buoys 
were  placed  to  mark  the  range. 

The  second  shot  crashed  through  the  Win- 
slow' s  bow  and  passing  aft  completely  wrecked 
her  steering  gear,  leaving  her  helpless.  A  mo- 
ment later  one  of  the  Spanish  gunboats  began 
firing,  and  the  Winslow  was  not  slow  in  replying 
from  her  three  one-pounders.  The  next  shot 
from  the  battery  knocked  a  large  splinter  of 
steel  from  the  Winslow' s  deck.  It  buried  itself 
in  Bernadou's  groin,  making  a  serious  wound, 
but  he  bound  a  towel  around  it  and  shoved  a 
one-pound  shell  into  the  towel,  as  a  tourniquet. 
That  checking  the  flow  of  blood,  Bernadou  ran 
aft  to  get  the  hand  steering-gear  rigged.  Before 
he  could  get  there,  however,  another  shot 
wrecked  that  also  and  as  he  paused  to  consider 
what  next  to  do,  a  man  from  below  reported 
one  boiler  pierced  and  one  engine  wrecked  by  a 


33  6  The  American  Navy 

shell.  The  Winslow  was  now  lying  motionless 
under  the  combined  fire  of  three  of  the  enemy's 
gunboats  and  a  shore  battery. 

It  was  now  that  the  great  resourcefulness  of 
our  men  was  shown.  The  boiler  was  spouting 
scalding  steam,  but  the  engineers  cut  off  its  con- 
nections and  disconnected  the  smashed  engine 
cylinder.  Then  with  one  boiler  and  a  part  of 
an  engine  brave  Bernadou  ordered  them  to 
steam  ahead  to  change  the  range  of  the  enemy's 
guns.  Having  no  steering-gear,  however,  the 
Winslow  was  nearly  unmanageable,  and  Ensign 
Worth  Bagley  was  stationed  at  the  engine- room 
hatch  to  pass  orders  below  to  go  ahead  or  back, 
from  time  to  time.  Suddenly  a  shell  came  on 
board  and  struck  Bagley,  who  staggered  for- 
ward to  the  signal  mast,  clutched  at  it  vainly, 
and  sank  down  dead  with  his  arms  around  it. 
A  half  dozen  others  were  knocked  about  the 
deck,  although  not  seriously  injured.  Then 
came  the  Hudson  to  the  rescue  and  sturdy  Cap- 
tain Newcomb  brought  his  vessel  within  reach 
and  throwing  a  towline  to  the  Winslow  started 
off  regardless  of  the  fire  of  the  Spaniards,  as 
leisurely  as  he  might  have  taken  a  lighter  in 
tow  in  the  North  Eiver.  A  shot  parted  the  line, 
but  he  came  alongside  and  made  fast  again, 
while  the  Wilmington  steamed  up  in  range,  shot 
one  of  the  gunboats  to  pieces,  and  fired  the  town 
with  her  shells.  Our  loss  in  the  affair  was  five 
killed  and  three  wounded. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

DBWEY  IN   MANILA  BAY 

ON  Friday,  February  15,  1898,  at  9.40  P.M. 
the  battleship  Maine  was  blown  up  while 
at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Havana.  Ten  days 
later,  on  Monday,  February  25th,  the  Navy 
Department  sent  the  following  cablegram  to 
Commodore  George  Dewey  at  Yokohama,  Japan : 

Secret  and  confidential.  Order  the  squadron,  ex- 
cept Monocacy,  to  Hong-kong.  Keep  full  of  coal. 
In  the  event  of  declaration  of  war,  Spain,  your 
duty  will  be  to  see  that  the  Spanish  squadron  does 
not  leave  the  Asiatic  coast,  and  then  offensive  opera- 
tions in  Philippine  Islands.  Keep  Olympia  until 
further  orders.  [The  Olympia  had  previously  been 
ordered  home.] 

In  this  connection,  in  a  letter  to  his  sister, 
from  Hong-kong,  written  early  in  April,  Dewey 
says: 

We  are  still  waiting  for  the  declaration  of  war, 
to  begin  our  work  out  here.  I  have  seven  men-of- 
war  all  ready  for  action,  and, .  should  war  be  the 
word,  I  believe  we  will  make  short  work  of  the 
Spanish  reign  in  the  Philippines.  The  insurgents 
are  ready  to  rise  at  our  first  gun,  and  long  before 
23  337 


338  The  American  Navy 

this  reaches  you  we  may  be  masters  of  Manila  and 
the  Philippine  cities.  ...  I  believe  I  am  not  over- 
confident in  saying  that  with  the  force  under  my 
command,  I  could  enter  the  Bay  of  Manila,  cap- 
ture or  destroy  the  Spanish  squadron  and  reduce 
the  defences  in  one  day.1 

The  Olympia,  Raleigh,  and  the  Petrel  were 
then  at  Hong-kong;  the  Baltimore,  at  Honolulu; 
the  Boston,  at  Chemulpo,  Corea;  and  the  Con- 
cord, at  sea  between  Yokohama  and  Chemulpo. 
April  7th  Dewey  was  cabled  to  "  land  all  wood- 
work, and  stores  not  necessary  for  operations," 
on  April  21st  he  was  notified  that  "  war  may 
be  declared  at  any  moment,"  and,  on  April  24th, 
he  received  the  final  momentous  telegram,  "  War 
has  commenced  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain.  Proceed  at  once  to  Philippine  Islands. 
Commence  operations  at  once,  particularly 
against  the  Spanish  fleet.  You  must  capture 
vessels  or  destroy.  Use  utmost  endeavors." 
The  same  day,  at  the  request  of  the  Governor 
of  Hong-kong,  the  Boston,  Concord,  Petrel,  and 
McCulloch  left  port,  followed  the  next  morning 
by  the  Olympia,  the  Baltimore,  and  the  Raleigh. 
These  vessels  assembled  in  Mirs  Bay,  on  the 
mainland  of  China,  thirty  miles  from  Hong- 
kong, and  on  April  27th  they  started  on  the 
voyage,  of  six  hundred  miles,  across  the  China 
Sea,  to  the  Philippines.  With  the  little  fleet 

1  Dewey'8  Life  and  Letters,  p.  198. 


ADMIRAL   GEORGE    DEWEY 


Dewey  in  Manila  Bay  339 

were  two  supply  steamers  Dewey  had  purchased, 
the  NanshaHj  with  three  thousand  tons  of  coal, 
and  the  Zafiro  with  six  months'  supplies  for  the 
ships. 

On  the  morning  of  April  30th  the  little  squad- 
ron arrived  off  Cape  Balinao,  on  the  island  of 
Luzon,  about  one  hundred  miles  north  of  Manila 
Bay,  and  steamed  leisurely  down  the  coast  at 
a  speed  of  eight  knots.  Suspecting  that  Ad- 
miral Montojo  might  come  out  to  meet  them, 
the  Baltimore,  Boston,  and  Concord  were  sent 
ahead  at  a  higher  rate  of  speed,  to  reconnoitre 
Subig  Bay,  but  no  signs  of  an  enemy  were  found 
when  the  entire  fleet  arrived  at  five  o'clock. 

It  was  learned  later  that  Montojo  had  been 
at  Subig  Bay  from  the  26th  to  the  29th  of  the 
month,  but  had  then  returned  to  Manila  and 
anchored  his  fleet  in  line  of  battle  across  the 
mouth  of  Bacoor  Bay,  where  the  Cavite  naval 
station  is  situated.  He  wras  notified  by  tele- 
graph from  Subig  Bay  that  the  American  fleet 
left  there  at  seven  o'clock  on  the  evening  of 
April  30th.  He  was  still  further  informed  of 
Dewey's  presence,  at  midnight,  by  the  gun  fire 
off  Corregidor. 

Steaming  quietly  on  past  the  northern  en- 
trance to  Manila  Bay,  shortly  after  eleven  o'clock 
that  night,  Dewey  turned  to  the  eastward  and 
proceeded  into  the  larger  opening,  called  Boca 
Grande,  which,  being  five  miles  wide,  prac- 
tically precluded  any  danger  from  torpedoes. 


34°  The  American  Navy 

There  were  batteries  of  heavy  rifled  guns,  how- 
ever, on  Corregidor  and  the  small  island,  El 
Fraile.  The  squadron  was  steaming  in  column, 
no  lights  showing,  and  the  crew  were  called 
to  quarters  as  the  ships  headed  in,  fully  expect- 
ing an  attack  from  the  batteries.  But  strange 
to  say  no  sign  came  from  the  enemy  until  the 
McCulloch  came  abreast  of  Corregidor,  when 
a  few  shots  were  fired  from  El  Fraile,  that  did 
no  damage.  It  was  now  a  few  minutes  after 
midnight  of  Sunday  morning,  May  1st,  and  the 
initial  danger  being  safely  passed,  Dewey,  ever 
thoughtful  of  his  crew,  allowed  the  men  to  lay 
down  between  the  guns  to  get  such  rest  as  was 
possible,  in  readiness  for  the  important  work 
before  them. 

At  daybreak  the  ships  were  off  the  city  of 
Manila,  which  was  about  four  miles  distant,  and 
at  5.15  A.M.  three  batteries  in  or  near  the  city 
began  firing  at  them  at  too  long  range  for  effect. 
Steaming  slowly  onward,,  the  Olympia  leading, 
the  little  column  of  ships  took  a  course  about 
parallel  to  the  Spanish  line  of  battle  abreast 
of  Cavite  when  Dewey  gave  the  word,  "  You  may 
fire  when  you  are  ready,  Gridley,"  and  at  5.15 
A.M.  the  battle  began,  the  signal  "  Fire  as  con- 
venient "  flying  from  the  yard-arm. 

As  the  two  eight-inch  rifles  in  the  Olympiads 
forward  turret  were  discharged  the  forward 
guns  of  the  other  ships  were  fired,  and  the  fleet 
stood  down  for  the  centre  of  the  Spanish  line, 


Dewey  in  Manila  Bay  341 

the  enemy  meanwhile  keeping  up  a  most  rapid 
fire.  One  large  shell  burst  less  than  one  hun- 
dred feet  ahead  of  the  flagship,  a  fragment  cut- 
ting her  rigging  directly  over  the  head  of  Dewey 
and  his  flag-lieutenant  on  the  bridge.  Almost 
at  the  same  moment  another  shot  passed  under 
the  bridge  and  cut  a  piece  out  of  the  deck.  Still 
the  Olympia  stood  down  for  the  enemy,  and 
when  assured  that  he  was  within  proper  range, 
the  Commodore  signalled  the  fleet  "  Open  with 
all  the  guns,"  and  then  pandemonium  reigned 
indeed. 

Keeping  up  a  continual  fire,  the  squadron 
steamed  past  the  anchored  enemy  in  stately  pro- 
cession, at  a  range  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  until 
reaching  the  Cavite  forts,  when,  slowly  turning, 
they  repassed  the  Spaniards,  pouring  in  a  deadly 
fire  from  their  starboard  batteries.  Early  in 
the  engagement  two  torpedo  launches  came  out 
toward  the  Olympia,  but  one  of  these  was  speed- 
ily sunk  and  the  other  disabled  by  the  secondary 
battery  of  the  flagship.  At  7  A.M.  as  the  ships 
were  coming  down  the  Spanish  line  for  the  third 
time,  Dewey  signalled  the  fleet  to  prepare  to 
anchor,  but  his  plans  were  changed  by  an  un- 
expected move  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  Ad- 
miral, who  at  that  moment  slipped  the  cables  of 
the  Reina  Cristina,  and  steamed  rapidly  toward 
the  Olympia.,  with  the  evident  intention  of  com- 
ing to  close  quarters.  She  had  only  fairly  got 
under  weigh,  however,  when  the  Olympia  con- 


342  The  American  Navy 

centrated  a  fire  upon  her  that  was  unendurable. 
One  shell  struck  the  bridge  where  Montojo  was 
standing,  but  he  escaped  with  a  slight  wound. 
Another  eight-inch  shell  exploded  on  the  fore- 
castle, putting  four  guns  out  of  action.  Her 
steering-gear  was  soon  shot  away,  her  sides  were 
riddled,  most  of  her  guns  were  disabled,  and 
her  motive-power  was  quickly  crippled.  As  she 
turned  to  run  inshore  her  stem  was  presented 
to  the  Olympia  and  a  two-hundred-and-fifty- 
pound  eight-inch  shell  struck  it  fairly,  tearing 
its  way  through  everything  until  it  exploded 
near  one  of  the  boilers,  ripping  up  the  pro- 
tective deck,  killing  and  wounding  sixty  men, 
the  captain  of  the  flagship  being  among  the 
killed. 

Admiral  Montojo,  finding  his  ship  on  fire  and 
sinking,  her  sides  crushed  in,  and  her  deck  a 
shambles,  left  the  Reina  Cristina,  lowering  a  boat 
in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  and  rowed  to  the 
Isla  de  Cuba,  where  he  hoisted  his  flag.  After 
steaming  to  the  east  the  American  ships  again 
turned  and  passed  the  enemy  a  fourth  time,  pour- 
ing in  their  combined  fire  until  the  Castillo  was 
in  flames,  as  well  as  the  Reina  Cristina.  Five 
times  our  ships  had  thus  passed  the  Span- 
ish line,  each  time  the  number  of  their  enemy 
decreasing,  until,  it  having  been  erroneously 
reported  to  the  Commodore  that  only  fifteen 
rounds  per  gun  remained  for  the  five-inch  rapid- 
fire  battery,  Dewey  turned  to  the  executive 


Dewey  in  Manila  Bay  343 

officer,  Lieutenant  Rees,  and  inquired,  "  What 
time  is  it,  Rees?  " 

"  Seven  forty-five,  sir." 

"  Breakfast-time,"  responded  the  Commodore ; 
"run  up  the  signal, ' Cease  firing  and  follow  me.' " 
And  Dewey,  recognizing  that  the  men  had  been 
working  for  two  hours  with  tense  nerves  at  the 
guns,  in  the  magazines,  and  in  the  stoke-holes, 
determined  to  give  them  a  short  respite  for  a 
breathing  spell. 

As  the  signal  was  broken  out,  the  Olympia  led 
the  way  beyond  the  range  of  the  enemy's  guns 
and,  as  the  men  came  up  from  below  and  saw 
for  the  first  time  the  burning  Spanish  wTecks 
astern,  the  boatswain's  whistles  sounded  the  wel- 
come call  to  breakfast.  It  was  then  that  the 
telegram  from  Manila  was  sent  to  Madrid: 

Our  fleet  engaged  the  enemy  in  a  brilliant  com- 
bat, protected  by  the  Cavite  and  Manila  forts.  They 
obliged  the  enemy  with  heavy  loss  to  manoeuvre 
repeatedly. 

It  is  strange  how  history  repeats  itself,  but 
Dewey,  in  this  instance,  repeated  the  "  manoeu- 
vre "  of  his  old  master  Farragut  at  the  passing 
of  the  forts  below  New  Orleans,  and  again  at 
Mobile  Bay,  in  withdrawing  his  squadron  for 
consultation,  redistribution  of  ammunition,  if 
necessary,  and,  incidentally,  for  a  very  welcome 
breakfast,  before  closing  up  at  the  moment  the 
business  in  hand. 


344  The  American  Navy 

For  three  grateful  hours  the  men  lay, 
stretched  out  on  deck,  in  the  shade,  enjoying 
their  respite  and  then  Dewey  ordered  the  Bal- 
timore in  to  reopen  the  fight.  By  11.16  o'clock 
her  guns  were  heard  and  then  the  other  ships 
followed,  this  time  to  an  attack  upon  the  forts. 
The  little  Petrel,  with  four  six-inch  guns,  being 
of  light  draft,  steamed  close  in  to  the  Spanish 
vessels  and  ship  after  ship  was  soon  in  flames 
by  her  close  range  fire.  Meanwhile  the  heavier 
ships  for  an  hour  and  a  half  were  pouring  in 
a  well-directed  fire  upon  the  forts,  until  at  last 
the  Spanish  flag  came  down,  a  white  flag  was 
displayed,  and  the  day  was  won ! 

The  Spanish  loss  in  vessels  sunk  was,  Reina 
Cristina,  Castillo,  Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa;  burned, 
Don  Juan  de  Austria,  Isla  de  Luzon,  Isla  de 
Cuba,  General  Leso,  Marquis  del  Duero,  El 
Correo,  Velasco,  Isla  de  Mindanao;  captured, 
Rapido  and  Hercules  tugs,  and  several  small 
launches.  Admiral  Montojo  reported  his  loss  as 
seventy-eight  killed  on  board,  and  twenty-three 
on  shore,  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  one,  while 
two  hundred  and  eighty  were  wounded.  On  our 
side  eight  men  were  slightly  wounded,  while  our 
ships  were  practically  uninjured  and  could  have 
gone  into  battle,  if  necessary,  the  next  day 
without  any  repairs. 

The  glorious  news  of  this  complete  and  bril- 
liant victory,  by  which  the  entire  Spanish  fleet 
in  the  East  had  been  destroyed  at  a  single  blow, 


Dewey  in  Manila  Bay  345 

was  received  at  home  with  the  wildest  enthusiasm 
and  the  whole  country  rang  with  Dewey's  name. 
By  a  joint  resolution  passed  May  9,  1898,  by  a 
standing  vote  in  Congress,  the  thanks  of  the 
American  people  were  tendered  to  Commodore 
Dewey,  he  was  promoted  to  Rear  Admiral,  and 
$10,000  was  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of 
a  jewelled  sword  of  honor  for  him,  w^hile  his 
native  State  ordered  a  statue  of  the  hero  to 
be  placed  in  the  State  House  at  Montpelier, 
Vermont. 


CHAPTER    XXV 

THE  RACE  OF  THE  "  OREGON  "  AROUND  CAPE  HORN 

NOTHING  more  romantic  occurred  in  the 
brief  history  of  the  Spanish  War  than  the 
superb  dash  of  fifteen  thousand  miles  around 
Cape  Horn,  made  by  Captain  Charles  E.  Clark  in 
the  ironclad  Oregon,  to  bring  his  formidable  ship 
from  San  Francisco  to  Santiago  in  time  and  in 
condition  to  contend  with  Cervera's  fleet.  By 
a  most  happy  chance  also  it  was  the  Oregon's 
thirteen-inch  shell  that,  at  the  last,  induced  the 
commander  of  the  Cristobal  Colon  to  turn  in- 
shore, after  a  chase  of  forty-eight  miles  from 
Santiago,  and  beach  his  vessel,  the  last  survivor 
of  Cervera's  ill-fated  fleet. 
An  officer  of  the  Colon  said,  after  the  battle : 

The  projectiles  of  the  Oregon  began  reaching  us 
at  1  P.M.  and  that,  together  with  the  fact  that  it 
was  impossible  to  fight  with  the  after  guns  on  ac- 
count of  the  Colon's  lack  of  large  calibre  pieces, 
and  the  certainty  of  being  overhauled  by  the  whole 
American  fleet  in  a  few  hours,  left  us  no  other 
remedy  than  to  run  our  ship  ashore  in  order  to 
avoid  useless  sacrifice  of  life. 

On  March  12,  1898,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 

346 


The  Race  of  the  "  Oregon  "       347 

telegraphed  Captain  McCormick,  of  the  Oregon, 
at  Tacoma,  Washington: 

When  in  all  respects  ready  for  sea,  proceed  to 
Callao  and  await  further  orders.  In  view  of  the 
present  critical  condition  of  affairs,  the  Oregon 
should  leave  San  Francisco  at  the  earliest  possible 
date  and  arrive  at  Callao  as  soon  as  practicable. 

Captain  McCormick  having  become  incapaci- 
tated for  duty  by  ill-health,  Captain  Charles 
Edgar  Clark  was  detached  from  the  Monterey, 
and  assumed  command  of  the  Oregon,  March 
17th,  and  sailed  from  San  Francisco  on  his  long 
and  perilous  voyage  March  19th.  The  Navy 
Department  issued  orders  on  March  22d  to  the 
Marietta,  then  at  San  Jose  de  Guatemala,  to 
precede  the  Oregon,  in  order  to  make  advance 
arrangements  for  coal,  and  to  facilitate  in  every 
way  the  passage  of  this  battle-ship,  so  sorely 
needed  to  reinforce  the  fleet  in  Cuban  waters. 

The  Oregon  had  a  good  run  down  the  coast 
and  arrived  at  Callao  April  4th,  having  made 
an  average  speed  of  10.7  knots.  Captain  Clark 
remained  only  eighty  hours  in  port,  taking,  in 
that  time,  eleven  hundred  tons  of  coal,  which 
Commander  Symonds  had  ready  in  lighters  in 
advance  of  the  Oregon's  arrival.  The  Marietta 
left  Callao  on  March  31st  for  Valparaiso,  where 
she  had  been  ordered  to  make  similar  advance 
arrangements.  When  Captain  Clark  left  Callao, 
he  had  one  boiler  still  under  repair.  Before 


348  The  American  Navy 

sailing  he  telegraphed  Secretary  Long  that  if 
coal  could  be  provided  for  him  at  Sandy  Point, 
Patagonia,  he  could  make  Bahia  without  stop- 
ping at  Valparaiso  on  the  Pacific  side,  or  at 
Montevideo  on  the  South  Atlantic  coast.  In 
accordance  with  this  request,  Long  telegraphed 
the  Marietta  at  Valparaiso  to  go  ahead  to  Sandy 
Point  and  secure  six  hundred  tons  of  coal,  if 
possible,  and  from  that  point  to  accompany  the 
Oregon  to  the  North  Atlantic. 

The  Oregon  had  comparatively  good  weather 
after  leaving  Callao,  although  the  heavy  Pacific 
swell,  increased  by  fresh  southerly  winds,  made 
the  ship  pitch  heavily,  the  jack-staff  at  times 
disappearing  under  the  solid  seas  that  swept 
over  everything  but  the  superstructure  deck; 
but  Captain  Clark  felt  that  the  condition  of 
affairs  at  home  warranted  him  in  driving  the 
noble  ship  at  a  high  rate  of  speed. 

He  entered  the  Straits  of  Magellan  the  after- 
noon of  April  16th,  in  a  terrific  storm,  with  rain 
so  dense  that  the  shores  could  not  be  seen  and 
no  soundings  could  be  obtained.  For  a  time  the 
ship  was  really  in  great  danger,  but  just  before 
dark,  in  a  brief  lull,  the  anchors  were  let  go  in 
thirty-eight  to  fifty-two  fathoms  of  water,  on  a 
rocky  shelf,  fringed  by  islets  and  reefs,  and  they 
fortunately  held  through  what  Captain  Clark 
reported  were  "  some  of  the  most  violent  gusts 
I  have  ever  experienced."  Before  morning,  how- 
ever, the  gale  moderated,  and,  getting  under 


The  Race  of  the  "Oregon"       349 

way,  the  Oregon  anchored  off  Sandy  Point  on 
April  17th,  the  total  run  from  Callao  having 
been  made  at  the  rate  of  eleven  and  three 
quarter  knots  an  hour. 

To  his  great  annoyance,  Captain  Clark  found 
that  the  hulk  at  Sandy  Point  from  which  the 
coal  contracted  for  by  Commander  Symonds 
was  to  be  furnished  was  loaded  above  the  coal 
with  wool,  and  the  crews  of  the  Oregon  and 
Marietta  were  engaged  three  precious  days  in 
the  tedious  work  of  transferring  the  wool  and 
taking  in  the  coal.  During  this  time,  the  crew, 
who  were  working  by  watches,  bravely  declined 
to  take  their  hammocks  from  the  nettings,  catch- 
ing a  few  hours'  sleep  on  deck  between  shifts,  to 
expedite  the  coaling.  On  the  twenty-first  the 
two  ships  sailed,  but  Clark  found  that  the 
Marietta's  low  rate  of  speed  delayed  him,  and 
it  was  not  until  the  afternoon  of  the  30th  of 
April  that  they  reached  Kio  de  Janeiro. 

Captain  Clark  had  been  warned  that  the 
Spanish  torpedo-boat  Temerario  was  at  Monte- 
video, and  that  her  commander  knew  the  Oregon 
was  on  her  way  north.  In  consequence,  during 
the  run  from  Cape  Horn,  the  lights  on  the 
American  vessels  were  carefully  screened  at 
night  and  the  battery  was  kept  in  constant  readi- 
ness, four  guns'  crews  in  each  watch  being  sta- 
tioned at  the  guns.  The  men  exhibited  the  most 
admirable  spirit  during  this  period  of  the  voy- 
age; the  engineer  officers  voluntarily  doubled 


35o  The  American  Navy 

their  watches  when  high  speed  was  made,  and 
some  of  the  firemen  remained  at  their  posts  until 
they  were  actually  carried  out  of  the  fire-room 
insensible. 

At  Rio  de  Janeiro  Captain  Clark  received  offi- 
cial notice  that  war  had  been  declared  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States  on  April  21st,  that 
the  Temerario  had  left  Montevideo  for  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  and  also  the  more  stirring  news  that 
Cervera's  fleet  of  four  armored  cruisers,  "  heavy 
and  fast,"  with  three  torpedo  destroyers,  had 
sailed  April  29th  from  Cape  Verde  to  the  west, 
"  destination  unknown."  The  Secretary  tele- 
graphed : 

Must  be  left  to  your  discretion  entirely  to  avoid 
this  fleet  and  to  reach  the  United  States  by  the 
West  Indies.  You  can  go  when  and  where  you 
desire.  The  Nictheroy  [the  purchased  Brazilian 
cruiser]  and  the  Marietta  subject  to  the  orders  of 
yourself. 

The  next  day,  May  1st,  came  a  cable,  "  Do  not 
sail  from  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil,  till  further 
orders.  LONG."  This  was  followed  on  the  2d 
of  May  by  a  conflicting  despatch :  "  My  tele- 
gram of  May  2d  countermanded.  Carry  out 
former  instructions,  contained  in  my  telegram 
of  May  1st,  to  proceed  with  Oregon,  Marietta, 
and  Nictheroy." 

On  May  3d  another  telegram  reached  Captain 
Clark  that  stirred  the  blood  of  the  officers  and 


The  Race  of  the  "  Oregon  "       351 

men  of  his  little  fleet  to  fever  heat  when  its 
glorious  news  was  made  known,  and  consoled 
them  for  all  the  toil  and  danger  of  their  past 
month's  voyage.  It  read: 

Inform  the  Department  of  your  plans.  The 
Spanish  fleet  in  Philippine  Islands  annihilated  by 
our  naval  force  on  the  Asiatic  station.  LONG. 

Clark  at  once  cabled  the  Department  that,  in 
view  of  the  possibility  of  encountering  Cervera's 
fleet,  he  should  keep  off  the  Brazilian  coast  and 
would  make  all  haste  for  the  United  States, 
coaling  at  sea  from  the  Nictheroy  if  necessary. 

Meanwrhile,  as  there  was  the  chance  of  the 
Temerario  coming  into  Rio,  Captain  Clark  sent 
an  officer  to  the  Brazilian  Admiral,  explaining 
to  him  that  the  Oregon,  a  $5,000,000  battle-ship, 
might  be  disabled  or  even  destroyed  by  the  tor- 
pedo vessel  of  the  nation  that  had  blown  up  the 
Maine,  and  that  Captain  Clark  relied  upon  the 
Brazilian  naval  forces  present  to  prevent  any 
such  act  of  hostility.  But,  Captain  Clark  added, 
"  if  the  Temerario  enters  the  harbor  and  ap- 
proaches the  Oregon  with  a  hostile  purpose,  I 
must  destroy  her !  " 

The  American  Minister  having  arrived  during 
the  afternoon  and  the  situation  being  explained 
to  him,  he  immediately  communicated  with  the 
Brazilian  government,  and  Captain  Clark  got 
under  way  with  the  Oregon  and  went  farther 
up  the  bay,  leaving  orders  with  the  Marietta  to 


352  The  American  Navy 

send  her  steam  launch  to  the  Temerario  if  she 
appeared,  to  inform  her  commander  that  if  she 
approached  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Oregon 
she  would  be  immediately  sunk.  The  Brazilian 
government  was  exceedingly  courteous  in  this 
matter  and  stationed  a  cruiser  at  the  entrance 
of  the  harbor  with  orders  to  stop  the  torpedo- 
boat,  or  if  she  were  permitted  to  enter,  to  con- 
voy her  to  an  anchorage  well  up  the  bay.  During 
the  stay  of  the  Oregon,  this  cruiser  and  the  fort 
at  Santa  Cruz  swept  the  entrance  to  the  bay 
with  their  search-lights  every  night,  and  the 
Brazilian  officers  showed  by  their  acts  that 
their  expressions  of  sympathy  and  hopes  for 
the  success  of  the  Oregon  on  her  voyage  were 
genuine. 

On  the  morning  of  May  4th,  the  Nictheroy 
being  ready,  the  Oregon,  with  that  cruiser  and  the 
Marietta  in  company,  sailed  from  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
but,  finding  that  his  progress  was  much  delayed 
by  the  inferior  speed  of  these  ships,  Captain 
Clark  touched  at  Bahia,  Brazil,  on  the  8th  of 
May,  and  telegraphed  the  Navy  Department  to 
that  effect,  informing  the  Secretary  "  that  he  had 
left  them  near  Cape  Frio  with  orders  to  their 
commanding  officers  to  go  home  as  best  they 
could,  or,  if  necessary  to  avoid  capture,  to  beach 
their  vessels."  Captain  Clark  added,  to  reassure 
the  Department  as  to  his  own  safety  and  his 
opinion  of  his  chances  against  Cervera's  fleet  if 
he  should  encounter  them: 


The  Race  of  the  "  Oregon  "       353 

The  Oregon  can  steam  fourteen  knots  an  hour 
for  hours  and  in  a  running  fight  might  beat  off 
and  even  cripple  the  Spanish  fleet.  With  the  pre- 
sent amount  of  coal  on  board  will  be  in  good  fight- 
ing trim,  and  could  reach  the  West  Indies.  If  more 
should  be  taken  here  I  could  reach  Key  West,  but 
in  that  case,  belt  armor,  cellulose  belt,  and  protec- 
tive deck  should  be  below  water-line.  Whereabouts 
of  Spanish  fleet  requested. 

Secretary  Long  immediately  responded: 

Proceed  at  once  to  West  Indies  without  further 
stop  in  Brazil.  No  authentic  news  of  Spanish  fleet. 
Avoid  if  possible.  We  believe  that  you  will  defeat 
it  if  met. 

The  Naval  War  Board  at  Washington  fully 
discussed  the  advisability  of  despatching  assist- 
ance to  the  Oregon  in  view  of  the  possibility  of 
her  being  waylaid  by  Cervera's  squadron,  that 
had  been  last  heard  of  at  the  Cape  Verde 
Islands.  It  was  wisely  decided,  however,  that, 
under  existing  conditions,  such  a  course  was 
inadvisable  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  leave 
Captain  Clark  to  pursue  his  own  course,  an 
eminently  wise  decision,  as  it  proved. 

The  Oregon  sailed  from  Bahia  on  the  evening 
of  the  9th  of  May,  and,  without  further  trouble, 
anchored  off  Bridgetown,  Barbadoes,  May  18th, 
at  3.20  A.M.,  having  made  an  average  of  11.73 
knots  during  her  last  run.  As  she  had  come 
from  Brazil,  the  ship  was  quarantined  and  the 


354  The  American  Navy 

Governor  of  the  island  sent  Captain  Clark  a  po- 
lite letter  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  Queen's  pro- 
clamation of  neutrality  dated  April  23d. 

Having  taken  in  four  hundred  tons  of  coal, 
the  Oregon  sailed  from  Barbadoes;  and  on  May 
24,  1898,  anchored  off  Jupiter  Inlet,  Florida, 
and,  after  communicating  with  the  Department, 
was  ordered  to  Key  West,  where  she  arrived 
May  26th.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  tele- 
graphed Captain  Clark  and  his  officers  and  crew 
the  congratulations  of  the  President  and  the  De- 
partment upon  their  safe  arrival  and  "  the  com- 
pletion of  your  long  and  remarkably  successful 
voyage."  To  this  Captain  Clark  responded,  on 
May  29th: 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  De- 
partment's telegram  of  yesterday,  which  was  re- 
ceived and  read  to  all  hands  at  muster  the  same 
evening,  causing  great  enthusiasm  and  spontaneous 
cheers.  That  the  officers  who  have  labored  so  faith- 
fully and  intelligently  to  bring  the  ship  around  in 
an  efficient  condition  for  fighting  and  steaming,  and 
especially  that  the  crew,  who  individually  and  col- 
lectively have  made  all  sacrifices  and  who  for  two 
weeks  have  asked  for  nothing  but  the  privilege  of 
doing  extra  work  that  might  hasten  the  progress , 
of  the  ship,  should  be  mentioned  and  congratulated, 
affords  me,  as  the  commanding  officer,  especial 
gratification. 

At  11  P.M.,  on  May  30th,  Sampson,  in  the  New 
York,  with  the  Oregon,  Mayflower,  and  Porter, 


The  Race  of  the  "  Oregon  "       355 

left  Key  West  for  Santiago.  At  6.55  A.M.,  on 
the  31st,  he  spoke  Commodore  Watson's  flagship, 
the  Montgomery,  and,  leaving  him  in  command 
at  Key  West,  he  made  signal  to  the  other  three 
ships  to  form  column  on  the  New  York,  and 
stood  to  the  eastward  at  a  speed  of  thirteen 
knots.  On  June  1st,  Bear  Admiral  Sampson 
arrived  off  Santiago  in  the  New  York,  with  the 
Mayflower,  Porter,  and  the  Oregon;  and  on  the 
2d  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  were  arranged  off 
the  entrance  to  the  port  in  a  semicircle,  the 
radius  of  the  arc  from  the  Morro  being  six  miles 
by  day  and  three  to  four  miles  at  night.  The 
Oregon's  place  in  this  circle  was  fifth  from  the 
eastern  side,  between  the  New  York  on  the  star- 
board hand  and  the  Iowa  on  the  port  side. 

The  Oregon's  important  share  in  the  work  of 
Sampson's  fleet  in  destroying  Cervera's  formid- 
able vessels  is  told  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

HOBSON  SINKS  THE   "  MERRIMAC  "   IN   SANTIAGO 
HAEBOE 

AFTER  it  was  satisfactorily  decided  that 
Admiral  Cervera  had  taken  his  hitherto 
elusive  fleet  into  the  harbor  of  Santiago,  Ad- 
miral Sampson,  feeling  that  it  would  be  very 
good  policy  to  keep  them  there,  out  of  harm's 
way,  decided  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  the 
escape  of  the  Spanish  ships  from  the  harbor, 
under  cover  of  a  blustering  night,  by  obstruct- 
ing the  channel.  Captain  Converse,  of  the 
Montgomery,  suggested  taking  the  steam  collier 
Merrimac,  already  at  Santiago,  for  that  purpose, 
and  the  suggestion  meeting  Sampson's  approval, 
steps  were  at  once  taken  for  putting  the  scheme 
into  execution. 

The  Admiral's  plan  was  to  run  the  Merrimac 
in  on  the  flood  tide  at  early  daylight,  under  her 
own  steam,  and  run  her  ashore  just  inside  Morro 
Castle,  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  channel, 
using  her  port  helm  so  that  the  flood-tide  would 
swing  her  stern  up-stream  and  across  the 
channel,  where  it  was  assumed  she  would  ground 
and  rest.  Then,  by  opening  all  the  sea-valves 
the  collier  would  sink,  and  it  was  expected  that 
the  channel  would  be  completely  obstructed. 

356 


Hobson  Sinks  the  "Merrimac"   357 

Sampson  sent  for  Mr.  Hobson,  assistant  naval 
constructor,  who  had  been  with  him  on  the  New 
York,  and  asked  his  opinion  as  to  the  best 
method  of  causing  the  Merrimac  to  sink.  Mr. 
Hobson  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  opening 
of  the  sea-valves  would  not  cause  the  ship  to 
sink  quickly  enough.  After  considerable  pon- 
dering over  the  plans  he  left  the  cabin,  with 
the  understanding  that  he  would  consider  other 
plans,  and  on  May  30th  he  brought  the  Admiral 
a  perfected  and  detailed  scheme,  involving  the 
use  of  ten  torpedoes.  Sampson  says: 

He  had  thought  out  every  detail,  even  to  the 
smallest  point.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Hobson 
requested  the  privilege  of  commanding  the  expedi- 
tion. ...  I  was  greatly  impressed  with  the  faith 
and  the  absolute  fearlessness  which  Mr.  Hobson  dis- 
played. Not  in  the  least  particular  did  he  show  a 
particle  of  doubt  of  success.  He  had  developed  the 
whole  plan  to  such  a  degree  that  no  one  had,  or 
probably  could  have  had,  the  matter  so  completely 
in  mind.  For  this  reason  alone,  prudence  demanded 
that  he  should  be  intrusted  with  the  principal 
command. 

As  soon  as  that  point  had  been  decided,  pre- 
parations went  on  apace,  torpedoes,  fuses,  etc., 
were  completed,  and  volunteers  were  called  for 
to  man  the  collier.  To  this  call  the  response  was 
immediate  and  most  gratifying,  as  seven  hundred 
men  at  once  offered  their  services  for  the  pla- 
ces of  the  seven  required,  and  the  crews  of  the 


358  The  American  Navy 

different  ships  pressed  upon  Mr.  Hobson,  using 
all  kinds  of  arguments  to  persuade  him  to  take 
them.  It  was  as  though  a  great  favor  was  be- 
ing asked  and  every  means  must  be  taken  to 
have  it  granted.  It  was  finally  arranged,  how- 
ever, that  the  executive  officer  of  the  Neio 
York  should  send  word  to  the  men  to  be 
selected. 

After  very  arduous  work  in  stripping  the 
Merrimac  of  all  unnecessary  gear  and  fitting  the 
torpedoes  intended  to  aid  in  sinking  the  vessel, 
on  the  early  morning  of  June  3d  the  Merrimac, 
with  her  crew  of  seven  brave  men  and  one  young 
officer  in  command,  started  under  a  slow  head 
of  steam  on  her  daring  enterprise.  The  moon 
was  about  an  hour  and  a  half  high  and,  steer- 
ing for  the  Morro,  the  vessel  was  running 
straight  down  the  reflected  path  of  light.  To 
clear  this  they  stood  to  the  eastward  of  the 
course  and  crept  along  obliquely,  at  about  four 
knots  speed.  As  they  stood  on,  the  outlines  of 
Morro  and  other  shore  objects  became  clearer 
and  clearer.  The  blockading  vessels  were  now 
miles  astern  and  when  the  Merrimac  arrived  at 
a  distance  of  about  two  thousand  yards  there 
could  be  no  further  question  of  surprise,  so  the 
order  was  given  "  Full  speed,  ahead !  "  "  Steady 
a-starboard ! " 

The  Merrimac  at  once  responded  as  if  ani- 
mated, and  foam  began  to  fly  under  her  bows, 
as  she  stood  down  toward  the  entrance.  The 


Hobson  Sinks  the  "Merrimac"    359 

men  were  now  directed  to  put  on  their  revolver 
belts  and  life  belts.  As  the  ship  forged  ahead 
the  excitement  and  anxiety  of  the  little  crew 
became  intense,  and  as  they  drove  down  the  ex- 
act course,  Estrella  opened  up  and  then  the 
Morro  drew  higher  in  the  sky  and  the  western 
side  of  the  entrance,  though  dim  as  expected, 
showed  in  the  moonlight  the  bald  spot  of  the  sea 
battery  on  top. 

The  Merrimac  was  now  within  five  hundred 
yards  of  the  enemy,  making  nine  knots,  and, 
almost  at  her  goal,  was  as  yet  apparently  un- 
discovered. Another  ship's  length  was  covered 
and  then  a  flash  darted  out  from  the  water's 
edge  at  the  left  side  of  the  entrance.  But  no 
crash  followed.  The  projectile  must  have  passed 
astern!  Another  flash — another  miss.  Then 
the  night  glasses  showed  to  the  anxious  crew 
a  picket  boat,  with  rapid-fire  guns,  lying  in  the 
shadow.  She  was  evidently  making  play  for 
their  exposed  rudder. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  crash  from  the  port 
side.  "  The  western  battery  has  opened  on  us, 
sir ! "  called  Charette  from  the  bridge  to  his 
commander.  Hobson  now  estimated  his  dis- 
tance from  Morro  Point  at  about  three  ship's 
lengths,  or  but  one  ship's  length  from  the  point 
at  which  it  had  been  decided  he  should  stop  his 
ship.  At  that  moment  a  huge  projectile  passed 
across  the  bridge  and  struck  something.  The 
order  was  telegraphed  to  the  engine-room 


360  The  American  Navy 

"  Stop,"  and  the  answer  pointer  indicated  that 
the  order  was  received. 

As  the  ship  slowed  down  a  swell  seemed  to 
set  her  stern  to  port  and  her  bow  swung  heavily 
toward  Morro,  coming  within  thirty  feet  of  the 
rock,  before  the  Herrimac  recovered  from  the 
sheer. 

"  Hard  a-port,"  shouted  Hobson.  No  response 
of  the  ship.  "  Hard  a-port  I  say,"  he  repeated. 

"  The  helm  is  hard  a-port,  sir,  and  lashed," 
was  the  response.  The  steering  gear  had  evi- 
dently been  shot  away  at  the  last  moment,  and 
the  ship  was  still  charging  forward  straight 
down  the  channel! 

The  anchors  were  at  once  let  go,  and  the  tor- 
pedoes for  sinking  the  ship  were  exploded. 
Meanwhile  the  rapid-fire  and  machine-gun  bat- 
teries on  shore  had  all  opened  up  at  full  blast 
and  projectiles  were  exploding  and  clanging, 
making  a  very  pandemonium.  The  sinking  ship 
was  just  in  front  of  Estrella,  lying  about  two 
thirds  athwart  the  channel,  the  bow  to  the 
westward.  Hobson  and  his  crew  had  gathered 
on  the  lower  deck,  where  they  were  screened  from 
the  incessant  musketry  fire  from  the  troops  in 
the  adjacent  batteries,  and  the  enemy's  shells 
were  meanwhile  cutting  up  the  upper  works  of 
the  Merrimac.  All  firing  was  at  point-blank 
range,  at  a  target  that  could  not  be  missed,  the 
Socapa  batteries  with  plunging  fire,  the  bat- 
teries of  the  Spanish  fleet  with  horizontal  fire, 


Hobson  Sinks  the  "Merrimac"    361 

the  striking  projectiles  and  flying  fragments 
producing  a  grinding  sound,  with  a  fine  ring  in 
it  of  steel  on  steel. 

The  Merrimac  now  gave  a  premonitory  lurch, 
then  settled  to  port,  and  the  firing  suddenly 
ceased.  The  vessel  lowered  her  head,  like  a 
faithful  animal  proudly  aware  of  its  sacrifice, 
bowed  below  the  surface,  and  plunged  forward. 
The  stern  rose  and  heeled  heavily,  stood  still 
for  a  moment,  then  started  downward,  the  ship 
righting  as  she  went  under  water. 

As  she  sunk  the  catamaran  that  had  been 
thoughtfully  provided  for  such  a  contingency 
floated  near  the  men  in  the  water  and  they  all 
assembled  about  it,  clinging  to  its  sides  for  sup- 
port. Hobson  directed  his  men  not  to  speak 
a  word,  but  to  cling  to  the  catamaran  and  await 
developments.  In  this  condition  they  remained, 
the  air  very  chilly  and  the  water  positively  cold, 
and  in  spite  of  their  best  efforts  two  of  the  men 
began  to  cough,  yet  they  remained  there  with- 
out a  murmur  fully  an  hour.  As  dawn  broke, 
a  beautiful  bugle  strain  went  up  from  Punta 
Gorda  battery;  broad  daylight  then  came, 
and  a  steam  launch  was  seen  approaching  the 
floating  men.  When  it  wras  about  thirty  yards 
off,  Lieutenant  Hobson  hailed.  The  launch 
stopped  and  backed  and  a  squad  of  riflemen 
appeared  from  beneath  the  awning  with  guns 
ready. 

Hobson  called  out  again,  to  ask  if  there  was 


362  The  American  Navy 

an  officer  in  the  boat,  as,  if  so,  an  American 
officer  wished  to  speak  with  him  with  a  view 
to  surrendering  himself  and  seamen  as  prisoners 
of  war. 

The  stern  curtain  was  raised,  an  elderly 
officer  leaned  out  and  waved  his  hand,  and  the 
rifles  came  down.  Hobson  struck  out  for  the 
launch  and  climbed  on  board  aft  with  the  as- 
sistance of  the  officer,  who,  hours  afterward,  he 
learned  was  Admiral  Cervera. 

Then  the  launch  steamed  down  to  the  cata- 
maran and  the  seven  men  climbed  on  board, 
two  of  them  in  the  last  stages  of  exhaustion 
and  requiring  to  be  lifted  in  from  the  water, 
and  the  whole  party  were  prisoners  in  Spanish 
hands. 

The  Americans  were  taken  on  board  the 
cruiser  Reina  Mercedes  where  they  were  treated 
with  the  utmost  consideration  by  their  captors, 
who  at  first  supposed  them  to  be  the  sole  sur- 
vivors of  an  American  vessel-of-war  that  had 
been  sunk  by  the  Spanish  batteries  and  the  fleet 
in  endeavoring  to  force  her  way  into  the  harbor. 
A  little  later  Hobson  was  given  facilities  for 
sending  out  to  Admiral  Sampson  a  brief  note 
informing  him  that  the  Merrimac  was  sunk  and 
that  he  and  his  men  were  being  kindly  treated  as 
prisoners  of  war.  This  communication  after  be- 
ing carefully  scrutinized  was  sent  out  to  the 
fleet  under  a  flag  of  truce  by  Admiral  Cervera; 
and  articles  of  clothing  and  a  small  sum  of 


Hobson  Sinks  the  "Merrimac"    363 

money  for  the  prisoners  was  brought  back  from 
the  New  Y^ork  by  the  same  boat. 

The  next  day,  by  order  of  General  Linares, 
the  prisoners  were  removed  to  the  Morro  Castle, 
where,  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Ramsden, 
the  British  Consul,  their  cells  were  made  more 
habitable  than  they  were  at  first,  and  through 
the  kindly  offices  of  the  Spanish  naval  officers 
many  little  luxuries  were  introduced  for  Lieu- 
tenant Hobson's  comfort.  Indeed,  throughout 
the  term  of  the  imprisonment  of  the  Americans 
the  generous  conduct  of  the  Spanish  naval 
officers  was  in  very  marked  contrast  to  that  of 
the  army  officers. 

After  the  preliminary  arrangements  for  their 
confinement  had  been  made,-  Charette,  one  of 
Hobson's  men,  was  permitted  to  visit  his  com- 
mander. He  referred  to  the  situation  they  had 
passed  through  together  and  said :  "  Every  man 
would  do  it  again  to-night,  sir."  Lieutenant 
Hobson  says  that  throughout  the  whole  term  of 
their  imprisonment  the  men  showed  the  most 
remarkable  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  and  although 
they  did  not  have  the  support  of  kind  words  and 
courteous  visits,  as  he  had,  yet  never  did  they 
exhibit  signs  of  anxiety  or  fear.  The  Spanish 
soldiers  at  first  taunted  them,  as  they  would 
Cuban  prisoners,  called  them  desperadoes,  ac- 
cused them  of  fighting  for  money,  making  signs  of 
dealing  out  coin,  and  passed  their  fingers  across 
their  throats  and  shook  their  heads  to  indicate 


364  The  American  Navy 

the  fate  that  awaited  them.  The  Americans, 
however,  only  smiled  at  such  taunts  and  actually 
laughed  at  the  gruesome  mockings. 

On  the  6th  of  June  the  Morro,  where  Hobson 
and  his  men  were  confined,  and  the  harbor  of 
Santiago  were  subjected  to  a  general  bombard- 
ment from  the  fleet,  which  lasted  all  that  day. 
The  castle  was  struck  many  times,  and  twice 
at  a  point  immediately  over  Hobson's  cell,  and, 
as  a  result,  the  prisoners  were  removed  the  next 
day  to  Santiago,  by  order  of  General  Linares. 
This  was  a  most  agreeable  change  for  the  Ameri- 
cans, as  they  were  now  confined  in  the  Cuartel 
Reina  Mercedes,  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  city, 
beside  the  large  military  hospital,  where  the 
lieutenant's  quarters  were  in  marked  contrast 
to  the  barrenness  of  his  cell  in  the  Morro.  He 
was  also  visited  here  by  Consul  Ramsden  who 
brought  him  the  news  of  the  death  of  Captain 
Acosta  of  the  Reina  Mercedes,  who  wras  mortally 
wounded  with  five  others  in  the  late  bombard- 
ment by  our  fleet.  Hobson  felt  this  very  sorely, 
for  Acosta  had  treated  him  with  the  greatest 
consideration  when  he  was  first  brought  as  a 
prisoner  on  board  the  Mercedes  by  Admiral 
Cervera.  The  lieutenant  was  also  made  very 
happy,  the  first  day  of  his  confinement  in  his 
new  quarters,  by  a  cablegram  sent  from  Brook- 
lyn in  care  of  Admiral  Cervera,  bringing  a  mes- 
sage of  kindness  from  the  Southern  Society  of 
Brooklyn,  which  made  him  feel  that  he  wras  not 


Hobson  Sinks  the  "  Merrimac  "    365 

forgotten  by  friends  at  home.  Mr.  Hobson  was 
here  served,  for  the  first  time  since  his  captivity, 
with  a  course  dinner  in  prison,  served  by  a 
soldier  acting  as  butler.  "  There  were  seldom 
fewer  than  three  courses  at  dinner,"  he  says 
jocosely : 

frijoles,  rice,  and  beef,  sometimes  sardines;  then, 
for  a  long  time,  a  bit  of  the  guava  jelly,  left  in  my 
cell  by  a  kind  Sister  of  Charity  from  the  hospital; 
and  for  a  while  fruit,  which  the  British  consul 
sent.  When  the  courses  were  through,  the  soldier 
cleared  the  table  and  served  a  small  cup  of  hot, 
black  coffee. 

But  it  was  not  by  any  means  all  cakes  and  ale 
for  the  prisoners  during  the  next  thirty  days  that 
elapsed  before  their  final  exchange.  Sickness, 
the  natural  consequence  of  close  confinement  in 
a  tropical  climate,  broke  out  among  his  men,  and 
it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  Hobson,  through 
the  intervention  of  the  British  Consul,  at  last 
obtained  permission  to  have  his  men  removed 
from  their  close  cell  to  the  hospital  for  treat- 
ment. By  assiduous  attention  to  diet  and  by 
incessant  physical  exercise  within  his  cell,  Hob- 
son  managed  to  retain  his  own  health  and  on 
July  7th,  when  he  and  his  men  were  at  last 
permitted  to  pass  through  to  General  Shafter's 
lines,  he  rode  a  horse  with  perfect  ease.  Then 
he  learned  for  the  first  time  of  the  destruction 
of  Cervera's  fleet  two  days  before. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


WHILE  Dewey  was  annihilating  the  naval 
power  of  Spain  in  the  East,  Admiral 
Cervera,  with  a  much  more  powerful  squadron 
of  modern  ships  than  Montojo  had  at  Manila, 
left  the  Cape  Verde  Islands  on  April  29th, 
and  was  leisurely  making  his  way  toward  the 
island  of  Cuba.  His  squadron  consisted  of  the 
armored  flagship  Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  the  Viz- 
caya,  and  the  Almirante  Oquendo,  each  of  seven 
thousand  tons,  armed  with  two  eleven-inch  guns, 
ten  5.5-inch,  and  the  usual  secondary  battery; 
the  slightly  armored  cruiser  Cristobal  Colon,  and 
the  torpedo-boat  destroyers  Furor,  Pluton,  and 
Terror.  The  destroyers  had  a  record  of  thirty 
knots  and  the  armored  cruisers  of  twenty  knots 
speed* 

The  appearance  of  such  a  formidable  squad- 
ron in  the  vicinity  of  our  coast  caused  the 
greatest  uneasiness,  more  particularly  from  the 
fact  that  its  destination  was  kept  a  close  secret 
and  it  was  not  known  where  it  might  strike. 
It  was  a  tremendous  relief,  therefore,  when  it 
became  definitely  known  that  the  "  disappearing 

squadron,"  as  it  was  popularly  called,  was  at 

366 


Destruction  of  Cervera's  Fleet    367 

last  safely  located  in  Santiago  harbor  and  that 
Admiral  Sampson's  powerful  squadron  was  keep- 
ing the  Spanish  ships  closely  blockaded. 

On  Sunday,  July  3,  1898,  while  the  morning 
mist  was  still  hanging  about  the  Cuban  hills 
the  battleship  Massachusetts  and  the  Suwanee 
left  their  station  at  four  o'clock  for  Guanta- 
namo,  where  they  were  to  coal.  At  8.50  the 
flagship  New  York  made  the  signal  "  Disregard 
movements  of  Commander-in-chief "  and,  in 
company  with  the  Ericsson,  swung  out  of  line 
and  steamed  toward  Siboney,  where  Admiral 
Sampson  was  to  meet  General  Shafter,  at  his 
request,  for  a  conference. 

At  9.31,  while  making  ready  for  church  serv- 
ice on  board  the  ships,  a  gun  from  the  Iowa 
startled  the  fleet  and  attracted  immediate  at- 
tention to  her  signal,  "  Enemy's  ships  coming 
out !  "  Although  the  Iowa,  having  trouble  with 
her  boilers,  had  only  steam  enough  to  move  her 
about  five  knots,  Captain  Evans,  in  obedience 
to  Sampson's  general  order,  headed  his  ship  at 
once  for  the  Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  the  leading 
Spanish  ship,  and  by  9.40,  at  a  range  of  six 
thousand  yards,  he  fired  the  first  gun  at  the 
enemy. 

The  Spanish  vessels,  bright  in  their  fresh  paint 
and  brilliant  with  battle  flags,  came  out  of  the 
harbor  at  a  speed  of  from  eight  to  ten  knots, 
a  beautiful  sight,  in  the  following  order,  and 
at  a  distance  of  about  eight  hundred  yards 


368  The  American  Navy 

apart:  Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  flagship;  Viz- 
caya,  Cristobal  Colon,  and  the  Almirante 
Oquendo.  Following,  at  a  distance  of  about 
twelve  hundred  yards,  came  the  torpedo-boat  de- 
stroyers Pluton  and  Furor.  The  Spanish  flagship 
at  once  responded  to  the  Iowa's  gun  with  a  full 
broadside  delivered  at  the  Indiana  and  the  battle 
began  in  earnest  as  the  Spanish  ships  fled  to 
the  westward,  pursued  by  our  fleet.  The  de- 
stroyers were  the  first  to  meet  their  fate;  they 
had  two  full  miles  of  open  water  to  cross  before 
they  could  reach  any  of  our  ships  and  meanwrhile 
the  smaller  guns  of  the  Indiana,  the  Oregon,  and 
the  Texas  were  playing  havoc  with  them,  as  they 
cleared  Socapa  Point.  Commander  Wainwright, 
in  the  little  Gloucester,  also  steamed  boldly  for 
them  and  at  close  range  his  six-pounders  speed- 
ily finished  their  career;  the  Furor,  crippled, 
turned  and  ran  for  the  beach,  while  the  Pluton 
was  literally  cut  in  two  by  a  large  shell  which 
struck  her  amidships,  and  she  sank  at  once  in 
deep  water. 

Meanwhile  the  chase  of  the  larger  Spanish 
ships  was  going  on  and  the  Maria  Teresa  was 
being  literally  cut  to  pieces  by  the  concentrated 
fire  of  the  fleet.  An  eight-inch  shell  struck  the 
shield  of  one  of  her  5.5-inch  guns,  passed 
through  it,  and  ranged  aft,  where  it  exploded. 
Another  entered  the  ship  just  under  the  after 
barbette,  ranging  aft,  and  exploded  on  the  gun- 
deck  with  such  effect  that  all  the  men  in  that 


Destruction  of  Cervera's  Fleet    369 

locality  must  have  been  either  killed  or  wounded, 
while  the  upper  deck  beams  were  ripped  and 
torn,  the  bulkheads  shattered,  and  the  fire-main 
cut.  Two  twelve-inch  shells  also  entered  below 
the  berth  deck,  exploding  and  completely  wreck- 
ing the  after-torpedo  compartment.  In  addition 
to  the  terrific  devastation  effected  by  the  large 
projectiles  there  was  a  perfect  rain  of  four-,  five-, 
and  six-inch  shells,  that  burst  in  every  direction, 
setting  fire  to  the  woodwork  of  the  ship  and 
driving  the  men  from  their  guns. 

Admiral  Cervera  stood  on  the  bridge  in  the 
midst  of  this  storm  of  shot  and  shell  and  sev- 
eral men  were  killed  or  wounded  about  him. 
"  It  was  like  hell,"  said  one  of  the  Spanish 
officers,  after  the  battle.  "  Shells  were  bursting 
around  us  on  all  sides."  Captain  Concas  was 
wounded,  the  second  in  command  could  not  be 
found,  the  fire  aft  in  the  Admiral's  cabin  was 
developing  so  fast  that  Cervera  gave  orders  for 
the  after  magazine  to  be  flooded,  but  the  smoke 
was  so  thick  below  that  the  valves  could  not 
be  reached  and  nothing  was  done.  Fearing  a 
great  explosion  the  Admiral  decided  that  further 
resistance  was  absolutely  hopeless  and  at  10  A.M. 
he  headed  his  flagship  for  the  beach,  aflame  from 
bow  to  stern,  where  the  survivors  were  rescued 
by  the  Gloucester's  boats,  Cervera  surrendering 
to  Commander  Wainwright. 

The  turn  of  the  Oquendo  came  next;  every 
gun  that  would  bear  from  four  of  our  ships  was 
24 


370  The  American  Navy 

concentrated  upon  her  until  she  also,  at  10.30 
A.M.,  turned  in  the  wake  of  the  flagship  and 
flaming  from  every  port  drove  upon  the  beach, 
where,  striking  at  full  speed,  her  stern  settled 
down  and  with  a  crash  she  broke  in  two  amid- 
ships, but  a  half  mile  west  of  the  Maria  Teresa. 
The  Vizcaya  sustained  the  race  with  the  squad- 
ron for  fifteen  miles  farther  before  she  finally 
met  her  fate  at  the  hands  of  the  Oregon  and 
the  Brooklyn.  It  was  11.15  o'clock  before  Cap- 
tain Eulate,  unable  longer  to  sustain  the  storm 
of  shot  and  shell  that  poured  upon  his  devoted 
ship,  turned  her  head  to  the  beach  and  ran  his 
ship  ashore  at  Asseraderos.  Captain  Eulate 
was  taken  on  board  the  Iowa,  severely  wounded 
in  the  head.  He  tendered  his  sword  to  Captain 
Evans,  who,  amidst  the  cheers  of  the  crew,  cour- 
teously refused  to  accept  it.  Lieutenant  Luis 
Fajado  y  Pinzon  of  the  Vizcaya  climbed  up  the 
Iowa's  side  with  some  slight  assistance,  stood 
at  attention  and  saluted,  while  his  left  arm  hung 
only  by  a  muscle.  None  of  the  wounded  Spanish 
officers  groaned  or  murmured. 

The  Colon,  now  the  last  survivor  of  the  fleet, 
had  thus  far  kept  inside  of  the  other  Spanish 
ships  and  had  consequently  escaped  much  of  the 
murderous  fire  that  had  destroyed  them.  She 
was  heading  to  the  west,  in  the  direction  of 
Havana,  at  a  great  speed,  pursued  by  the  Oregon 
and  Brooklyn.  The  Oregon,  from  being  next  to 
the  easternmost  ship  when  the  alarm  sounded, 


Destruction  of  Cervera's  Fleet    371 

had  passed  rapidly  ahead  of  the  other  battle- 
ships by  a  remarkable  burst  of  speed,  and  was 
now  almost  abreast  of  the  Brooklyn,  which  posi- 
tion she  maintained  to  the  end,  using  her  forced 
draft  and  exceeding,  at  times,  her  contract  trial 
speed.  It  was  then  that  Chief  Engineer  Milli- 
gan  came  up  from  the  stoke-hole  and  begged 
Captain  Clark  to  fire  one  gun  to  encourage  his 
fainting  men  below  and  the  Captain  accordingly 
ordered  one  of  the  thirteen-inch  guns  fired,  al- 
though the  shot  fell  short  of  the  mark. 

The  chase  continued  for  two  hours,  the  initial 
speed  of  seventeen  knots  of  the  Colon  gradually 
diminishing  while  that  of  the  pursuers  was 
visibly  increasing.  At  ten  minutes  before  1  P.M. 
the  Oregon  began  firing  her  forward  thirteen- 
inch  guns,  throwing  shells  near  and  over  the 
chase  and  the  Brooklyn  fired  some  smaller  guns 
soon  after.  At  1.15  the  Colon  turned  in  toward 
the  beach,  ran  ashore  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Kio  Tarquino,  fired  a  gun  to  leeward,  and  hauled 
down  her  flag.  Then  Commodore  Schley,  in 
appreciation  of  her  superb  work,  signalled 
"  Oregon,  well  done." 

The  Colon  was  boarded  by  Captain  Cook  of 
the  Brooklyn  to  whom  she  was  surrendered.  He 
found  her  practically  uninjured,  but  her  sea- 
valves  had  been  treacherously  opened  and  the 
Colon  soon  filled  and  turned  over  on  her  star- 
board side,  leaving  a  part  of  her  port  quarter 
exposed.  The  surviving  Spaniards  of  the  fleet 


372  The  American  Navy 

were  taken  from  their  burning  ships  and  were 
sent  to  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  where  they 
remained  as  prisoners  of  war,  until  they  were 
exchanged. 

At  the  battle  of  Manila  Bay  it  took  Dewey 
seven  hours,  including  the  three  hours  taken  for 
breakfast,  to  destroy  the  Spanish  fleet  and 
silence  the  Cavite  forts.  In  the  combat  at  San- 
tiago, from  the  first  appearance  of  the  Maria 
Teresa  until  the  surrender  of  the  Cristobal  Colon, 
exactly  three  hours  and  forty-four  minutes 
elapsed. 

The  outcome  of  this  amazing  victory  was  the 
absolute  annihilation  of  Cervera's  fleet,  with  a 
loss  to  the  Spaniards  of  three  hundred  and  fifty 
killed  and  drowned;  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine, 
including  ninety-nine  officers,  wounded ;  and  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four  made 
prisoners.  On  our  side  but  one  was  killed  and 
two  wounded.  The  enormous  disparity  between 
the  loss  on  the  American  and  the  Spanish  side 
was  even  greater  in  this  engagement  than  in 
Dewey's  brilliant  victory  at  Manila. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE    CRUISE    OP    THE    BATTLE-SHIP    FLEET    AROUND 
THE    WORLD 

IN  the  late  spring  of  1907  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment decided  to  send  the  Atlantic  fleet,  com- 
posed of  sixteen  fine  battle-ships,  and  an  auxiliary 
flotilla  of  small  vessels,  on  an  extended  practice 
cruise  to  the  Pacific  coast.  It  was  proposed  to 
spend  the  month  of  March,  1908,  in  Magdalena 
Bay,  Mexico,  for  target  practice,  and  the  advance 
programme  contemplated  a  return  to  the  Atlantic 
coast  about  February  22,  1909. 

After  completing  their  work  at  the  Jamestown 
Exposition  and  the  summer  manoeuvres,  target 
practice,  etc.,  the  vessels  of  the  fleet  dispersed 
to  the  several  navy  yards  for  final  preparations, 
which,  in  view  of  the  extended  cruise  contem- 
plated, were  naturally  very  carefully  attended 
to.  The  week  beginning  December  9,  1907,  the 
fleet  assembled  at  Hampton  Roads  with  Rear 
Admiral  Robley  D.  Evans  as  commander-in-chief. 

The  vessels  of  what  was  designated  as  the 
United  States  Atlantic  Fleet  were :  First  squad- 
ron, Connecticut,  flagship  of  Rear  Admiral 
Evans,  Kansas,  Vermont,  Louisiana.  Second 
division  (Rear  Admiral  W.  H.  Emory),  Georgia, 

373 


374  The  American  Navy 

New  Jersey,  Rhode  Island,  Virginia.  Second 
squadron  (Rear  Admiral  C.  M.  Thomas),  third 
division,  Minnesota,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Maine. 
Fourth  division  (Bear  Admiral  C.  S.  Sperry), 
Alabama,  Illinois,  Kearsarge,  Kentucky.  Tor- 
pedo flotilla  (Lieutenant-Commander  H.  I. 
Cone),  Whipple,  Truxton,  Lawrence,  Hopkins, 
Hull,  Stewart.  Auxiliaries,  Panther  (repair 
ship),  Culgoa  and  Glacier,  storeships,  Ajax  (col- 
lier), Arethusa  (storeship  for  flotilla),  Yankton 
(tender). 

This  list  of  varied  auxiliary  vessels  shows  what 
wise  and  careful  preparation  was  made  in  ad- 
vance for  any  possible  contingency  that  might 
occur  on  the  voyage.  They  all  remained  with 
the  fleet,  practically  in  their  company,  until 
the  arrival  of  Admiral  Evans  at  Magdalena 
Bay. 

All  the  preparations  being  completed,  Presi- 
dent Koosevelt  reviewed  the  assembled  fleet  at 
Hampton  Roads,  bade  the  officers  and  crews  God- 
speed, and  on  December  16th  the  ships  sailed. 
This,  the  most  powerful  collection  of  war- 
ships ever  assembled  under  the  American  flag 
was  about  to  undertake  the  longest  cruise — of 
14,000  miles — that  any  fleet  of  similar  force  had 
ever  made.  There  were  about  fifteen  thousand 
officers  and  men  on  board  the  ships  and  the 
value  of  the  vessels  was  fully  f  100,000,000.  The 
departure  of  this  fleet  excited  the  liveliest  in- 
terest, not  only  in  our  own  country,  but  through- 


The  Cruise  of  the  Battle-Ship  Fleet   375 

out  the  civilized  world  and  the  records  of  the 
various  stages  of  the  cruise  were  printed  broad- 
cast and  read  with  the  deepest  interest. 

As  the  ships  passed  out  by  the  Capes  of  the 
Chesapeake  after  the  President's  review  the 
bands  of  the  different  ships  played  the  national 
airs  interspersed  with  the  more  homely  melodies 
"  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  "  The  Girl  I  Left  Behind 
Me,"  and  "  Auld  Lang  Syne."  The  correspond- 
ent of  the  New  York  Sun  related  the  following 
characteristic  incident  of  the  departure  of  the 
Louisiana: 

A  staff  officer  of  that  ship  showed  the  attitude 
of  the  naval  man.  He  had  told  his  wife  and  family 
exactly  where  to  go  in  a  remote  but  conspicuous 
place  on  the  ramparts  of  old  Fort  Monroe  so  that 
he  could  distinguish  them  easily  with  his  glass.  He 
had  told  them  he  would  be  on  the  after  bridge. 
When  the  ship  came  near  the  station  of  his  family 
he  stole  far  out  on  the  bridge,  fixed  his  glass  on 
the  family  group  and  waved  and  waved  his  hand- 
kerchief. The  answer  came  quickly  and  the  flashes 
seemed  to  be  wigwags,  such  as  a  naval  officer's  wife 
might  be  expected  to  know. 

The  officer  stood  it  for  about  two  minutes.  Then 
he  pulled  himself  together  sharply,  turned,  and 
walked  away  over  to  a  group  of  his  mates. 

"  Did  you  make  out  your  people,  Jones  ?  "  asked 
one  of  them  who  had  noted  what  was  going  on. 

"  I  believe  they  were  over  there  somewhere  in 
the  crowd,"  was  the  reply,  with  an  apparently  un- 
concerned smile.  He  had  finished  with  that  side  of 


376  The  American  Navy 

his  existence.     His  duty  was  now  to  his  ship.    And 
so  the  ships  passed  out  to  sea. 

Later  that  day  a  message  was  signalled  to 
each  ship  announcing  that  the  President  had 
authorized  the  commander-in-chief  to  inform  the 
officers  and  men  that  after  a  short  stay  on  the 
Pacific  coast  the  fleet  would  return  home  by 
way  of  the  Mediterranean.  And  thus  one  of 
the  puzzles  about  the  final  destination  of  the 
fleet  was  settled,  to  the  great  delight  of  officers 
and  crew. 

On  December  23d  the  fleet  arrived  at  Trini- 
dad, Port  of  Spain,  where  they  were  most  cor- 
dially received,  Governor-General  Jackson  being 
an  old  friend  of  Admiral  Evans.  On  Christmas 
Day  a  grand  reception  was  given  on  board  the 
Minnesota  to  all  the  officers  of  the  other  ships 
and  the  bluejackets  of  the  fleet  had  a  special 
Christmas  dinner  of  turkey  and  the  usual 
accessories. 

The  ships  were  coaled  at  Trinidad  and  the 
crews  received  shore  liberty,  which  was  greatly 
enjoyed.  The  fleet  sailed  on  the  29th  for  Rio 
de  Janeiro,  briefly  pausing  on  the  sixth  of  Janu- 
ary for  the  visit  of  Neptune  Rex,  which  was  duly 
celebrated  when  the  ships  crossed  the  equator, 
the  land-lubbers  at  that  time  being  initiated 
into  the  "  solemn  mysteries  of  the  Ancient  Order 
of  the  Deep."  Lieutenant  F.  T.  Evans,  the  son 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  was  one  who  was 
initiated  during  this  festival. 


The  Cruise  of  the  Battle-Ship  Fleet   377 

The  fleet  arrived  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  on  the  12th 
and  their  reception  by  the  enthusiastic  Brazil- 
ians was  absolutely  overwhelming.  During  the 
ten  days'  stay  in  that  beautiful  harbor  there 
was  one  incessant  round  of  festivities  for  officers 
and  men,  from  the  time  the  signal  "  Welcome 
American  fleet"  snapped  out  from  Fort  Santa 
Cruz  at  the  entrance  of  the  port,  until  the  de- 
parture of  the  fleet  on  January  22d.  Officers 
and  men  universally  declared  Rio  to  be  not  only 
the  "  City  of  all  Delights,"  but  the  "  City  of  All 
Hospitality." 

On  the  evening  of  January  26th  the  Argen- 
tine fleet,  under  command  of  Admiral  Hipolito 
Oliva,  came  out  to  sea  to  meet  the  American 
ships  off  Buenos  Ayres  and  give  Rear  Admiral 
Evans  a  salute  of  fifteen  guns — a  full  Admiral's 
salute.  The  Argentines  evidently  could  not  be- 
lieve that  such  a  magnificent  fleet  could  possibly 
have  been  sent  around  the  world  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  Rear  Admiral.  The  Connecticut,  in 
strict  compliance  with  naval  etiquette,  responded 
to  this  salute  gun  for  gun,  and  the  men  of  the 
foreign  vessels  broke  into  loud  cheering  as  our 
ships  passed  them  with  their  bands  playing. 

On  February  1st,  the  fleet  arrived  at  Punta 
Arenas,  commonly  known  as  the  "  jumping-off 
place  of  the  earth,"  as  it  is  the  southernmost 
settlement  of  any  size  of  civilized  people  in  the 
world.  As  the  ships'  launches  swung  into  the 
landing  place  at  this  forlorn,  dreary,  and 


378  The  American  Navy 

desolate  place  they  found  an  enormous  sign 
reading,  "  Special  prices  for  the  American 
fleet."  This  legend  was  found  to  state  the  exact 
truth,  especially  as  to  furs,  one  of  the  principal 
articles  of  barter.  Fox-skin  rugs  that  had  been 
selling  for  $25  immediately  went  up  to  $40. 
Guanaco  skins  were  elevated  from  flO  to  $15. 
Seal  skins  underwent  a  raise  from  $50  to  $75. 
This  was  an  exemplification  of  hospitality  to  the 
strangers  that  was  unappreciated  by  the  visitors. 
The  ships  were  coaled  here  and  sailed  on  the 
7th  of  February,  having  stayed  one  day  longer 
than  the  programme  indicated,  to  respond  to  the 
courtesy  of  the  Chilean  government  in  sending 
their  cruiser  the  Chacabuco  down  to  Arenas  to 
greet  the  fleet. 

The  passage  through  the  dreaded  Strait  of 
Magellan  was  comparatively  uneventful  and 
after  passing  safely  through  into  the  Pacific  the 
fleet  on  February  15th  sailed  in  stately  proces- 
sion in  and  out  of  the  harbor  of  Valparaiso, 
saluting  President  Montt  as  they  had  saluted 
President  Roosevelt  at  Hampton  Roads  when 
our  vessels  left  home.  On  the  green  hillside  was 
observed  in  letters  of  white  the  word  "  Welcome." 
Upon  closer  observation  it  was  discovered  that 
this  was  a  human  sign  made  by  sailors  or  naval 
cadets  dressed  in  white,  who  lay  for  fully  an 
hour  quietly  on  the  ground.  Three  men  were 
required  to  make  the  height  of  a  single  letter 
of  this  unique  signal.  As  our  fleet  rounded 


ADMIRAL    ROBLEY    D.    EVANS 

(Copyright,  190T,  by  Enrique  Muller) 


The  Cruise  of  the  Battle-Ship  Fleet   379 

Point  Angeles  the  sixteen  American  battle-ships 
belched  out  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  to  the 
President  of  Chili,  to  which  Fort  Valdivia  re- 
sponded with  the  same  number  of  guns.  The 
same  salutes  were  again  exchanged  near  Fort 
Callao,  where  President  Montt  was  stationed  on 
board  the  Chacabuco. 

Greetings  equally  warm-hearted  were  ex- 
changed with  the  Peruvians  at  Callao  when  the 
fleet  arrived  at  that  port  on  February  20th. 
Here  officers  and  crew  had  an  opportunity  of 
visiting  Lima,  founded  by  Pizarro  in  1535.  A 
bull  fight  was  one  of  the  special  attractions  to 
the  visitors  at  Lima  and  six  bulls  of  famous 
stock  were  provided  for  the  "  grand  gala  "  for 
the  Americans.  A  trip  over  the  wonderful 
Oroya  railroad  was  also  arranged  for  the  officers, 
and  in  return  for  the  many  courtesies  Admiral 
Evans  gave  a  dinner  to  President  Pardo  on  board 
the  Connecticut.  Then,  on  the  29th  the  Ameri- 
can fleet  passed  out  to  sea,  accompanied  by  the 
Peruvian  cruiser  Almirante  Grace,  with  the 
Peruvian  President  on  board,  and  sailed  for 
Magdalena  Bay. 

On  March  12th,  Admiral  Evans's  fleet  arrived 
at  Magdalena  Bay,  Mexico,  two  days  ahead  of 
schedule  time,  to  the  very  great  relief  of  the 
Navy  Department,  whence  the  eventful  passage 
of  the  vessels  around  Cape  Horn  and  up  the 
coast  of  South  America  had  been  carefully  and 
anxiously  watched.  Admiral  Evans  at  once 


380  The  American  Navy 

notified  the  home  authorities  that  his  ships  were 
actually  in  better  shape  than  when  they  left 
Hampton  Koads;  their  crews  were  in  splendid 
health  and  in  first-class  fighting  condition  and 
were  ready  for  any  duty  to  which  they  might  be 
detailed  within  an  hour's  notice. 

The  time  for  the  fleet  target  practice  had 
now  arrived  and  for  the  next  month  every  ship 
was  kept  at  work  in  good  earnest  at  battle  prac- 
tice, or  firing  at  a  target  that  simulated  in  size 
and  distance  the  ship  of  an  enemy,  the  range 
having  to  be  found  out.  "  Kecord  "  practice  was 
also  made  on  certain  days  to  qualify  gun  pointers 
and  to  find  out  the  best  shooters  in  each  ship. 
Magdalena  Bay  is  considered  one  of  the  finest 
places  in  the  world  for  this  practice.  It  is  a 
splendid  sheet  of  water,  about  fifteen  miles  long 
and  ten  wide,  with  a  narrow  entrance,  good 
water  just  deep  enough  for  safe  manoeuvring, 
and  an  excellent  anchorage.  A  line  of  sharp- 
crested  hills  shuts  it  in  from  sight  of  the  Pacific. 
There  is  only  one  small  hamlet  of  about  twenty 
dwellings  on  the  inside  of  the  bay,  so  that  the 
fleet,  cut  off  from  all  the  world,  was  perfectly 
secluded  for  the  important  work  they  had  in 
hand. 

The  exciting  business  of  the  cruise  now  be- 
gan ;  all  the  festivities  that  had  preceded  it  were 
for  the  time  forgotten.  Just  before  the  shoot- 
ing began  a  perceptible  calm,  a  stillness  came 
over  the  ship.  Officers  and  men  steady  them- 


The  Cruise  of  the  Battle-Ship  Fleet   381 

selves  with  a  supreme  effort  to  keep  cool  and 
the  spirit  to  do  or  die  takes  possession  of  the 
ship.  The  gufls  go  bang,  bang,  and  boom,  boom, 
good  cheer  pervades  every  compartment,  and  it 's 
"  That 's  fine  Bill !  "  "  Hit  'em  again !  "  "  Sock 
it  to  'em!"  "Soak  >er!"  "You're  doin> 
great !  "  "  Never  mind,  that 's  only  one  miss !  " 
"  Bully  boy ! "  And  as  the  riddled  target  is 
brought  on  board  to  be  repaired  the  anxious 
men,  full  of  excitement,  crowd  around  it  while 
the  umpires  examine  the  rents  to  make  their 
decisions  as  to  the  result.  The  real  preparation 
for  all  this  work  had  begun  as  soon  as  the  fleet 
left  our  coast  and  there  had  been  daily  drills 
for  hours  at  Morris  tube  practice  all  the  time 
at  sea  during  the  past  four  months. 

And  so  in  this  most  valuable  practical  work 
the  time  passed  until  April  llth,  when  the  fleet 
sailed  for  California.  After  brief  pauses  at  San 
Diego,  San  Pedro,  and  Santa  Barbara,  to  show 
the  vessels  to  the  inhabitants  of  these  sections, 
the  fleet  reached  San  Francisco  on  May  6,  1908, 
after  the  longest  cruise  ever  made  by  a  fleet  of 
battle-ships  of  any  navy.  The  log  recorded  in 
round  numbers  thirteen  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  sea  miles  covered  in  sixty-one  sailing 
days.  The  government  now  knows  by  actual 
experience  that  in  seventy-eight  days,  without 
undue  speeding,  a  fleet  of  battle-ships  could  be 
readily  sent  from  the  Chesapeake  to  San 
Francisco. 


382  The  American  Navy 

All  naval  officers  agree  that  professionally  the 
cruise  was  of  the  very  greatest  benefit  to  both 
officers  and  men.  The  ships  also  had  been 
shaken  down,  and  had  become  a  coherent  force. 
A  large  quantity  of  work  had  been  done  on 
each  vessel  such  as  is  usually  done  in  navy 
yards,  and  many  repairs  had  been  made  by  the 
force  on  board  the  accompanying  repair  ship,  at 
no  cost  to  the  government. 

One  great  drawback  to  the  full  enjoyment  of 
the  cruise  was  the  condition  of  health  of  Ad- 
miral Evans.  His  old  enemy  rheumatism  took 
a  sharp  grip  on  him  and  other  complications 
followed.  At  times  he  was  in  the  most  serious 
condition  and  it  was  only  his  indomitable  pluck 
that  enabled  him  to  support  the  voyage  until  the 
ships  reached  the  Golden  Gate  and  to  direct  all 
their  important  movements  so  that  when  the 
vessels  arrived  in  port  Admiral  Evans  led  the 
forty-two  ships  into  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco 
in  his  flagship. 

The  next  day  Secretary  Metcalf,  as  the  personal 
representative  of  the  President,  reviewed  the 
combined  fleets  and  on  May  8th  Admiral  Evans 
formally  gave  up  the  chief  command  to  Rear 
Admiral  Thomas  and  was  taken  in  a  wheeled 
chair  to  the  dining-room  of  a  hotel  where  a 
banquet  to  Secretary  Metcalf  and  the  officers 
of  the  fleet  was  being  given. 

There  Admiral  Evans,  wan  and  feeble  and 
scarcely  able  to  stand,  electrified  his  audience 


THE    FORWARD    DECK    OF   A    MODERN    BATTLESHIP 

(Copyright,  1908,  by  Enrique  Muller) 


The  Cruise  of  the  Battle-Ship  Fleet   383 

by  declaring  impassionately  that  what  the  coun- 
try needs  is  "  more  battle-ships  and  fewer  states- 
men." The  next  day  Rear  Admiral  Thomas 
hoisted  his  flag  as  commander-in-chief,  to  be 
relieved  five  days  later  by  Rear  Admiral  Charles 
S.  Sperry.  Sperry  took  the  fleet  to  Puget  Sound 
to  give  the  people  there  a  view  of  their  new 
ships  and,  as  at  San  Francisco,  there  was  the 
usual  round  of  entertainments  for  the  fleet  until 
the  vessels  were  in  readiness  to  resume  the 
voyage  around  the  world. 

The  arrival  of  the  fleet  at  San  Francisco 
marked  the  real  end  of  the  cruise.  All  that 
followed  was  merely  a  succession  of  banquets 
and  revels  that  made  up  charming  features  of 
a  pleasure  jaunt,  delightful  to  the  officers  and 
men,  but  that  were  of  no  very  special  advantage 
to  the  service. 

A  pleasant  incident  indicating  the  generous 
thoughtfulness  of  Admiral  Sperry  occurred  on 
the  passage  of  the  fleet  to  Honolulu  when  the 
Admiral  diverted  the  course  of  the  ships  and 
arranged  their  speed  so  as  to  pass  the  leper 
island  of  Molokai  during  daylight,  steaming 
close  in  to  the  land,  that  the  unfortunate  people 
might  have  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  the  spec- 
tacle and  seeing  an  evidence,  perhaps  for  the 
only  time  during  their  lives,  of  the  naval  power 
of  their  country.  Another  course  of  target 
practice  was  had  at  Manila  Bay,  which  ad- 
mirably supplemented  the  work  at  Magdalena 


384  The  American  Navy 

Bay.  At  New  Zealand,  Australia,  Japan,  and 
in  China  there  was  a  renewal  of  the  lavish 
hospitality,  both  official  and  private,  that  char- 
acterized the  earlier  days  of  the  cruise  and  in 
the  Mediterranean  ports  the  testimonials  of  good 
will  and  friendship  from  the  native  authorities 
were  intermingled  with  the  hearty  welcomes 
from  many  American  friends. 

And  now  with  our  country  a  recognized  world 
power,  happily  at  peace  with  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  with  our  Navy  second  only  to  that  of 
Great  Britain,  we  close  these  fugitive  sketches 
of  a  few  of  the  many  romantic  incidents  in  the 
career  of  our  ships  of  war  during  the  past 
century  and  a  half. 

It  is  a  far  cry  indeed  from  those  early  days, 
when  the  plucky  little  schooner  Enterprise  bore 
her  part  so  sturdily  in  defending  the  honor  of 
our  flag  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  down  to 
this  latest  peaceful  passage  of  our  sixteen 
monster  battle-ships  forty-five  thousand  miles 
around  the  world.  Yet  they  returned  to  our 
shores  as  they  left  them,  fourteen  months  be- 
fore, all  ready  for  a  fight  or  a  frolic — this 
episode  in  itself  the  greatest  and  happiest 
romance  in  all  the  century's  history  of  our 
Navy. 


INDEX 


Achilles,  100,  101,  102, 

104 

Adams,  44 
Adams,  314 
Adams,  John  Q.,  4,  88 
Adonis,  145 
Alabama,  Confederate,  229, 

284-301 

Alabama,  ironclad,  374 
Albemarle,  277-282 
Alden,  Captain  James,  254 
Alder,  93 

Aldham,  purser,  166 
Alert,  119 

Alexander,  Captain,  28 
Alexandria,  272 
Alfred,  64,  65 
Alliance,  56,  57,  58,  60,  75, 

80,  81,  86,  90 
Almirante  O  quendo,  366, 

369 
Almy,  Master  Thos.  C.,  174, 

177 

Alphonso  XII.,  326 
America,  87,  309 
Amphitrite,  65 
Andria  Doria,  29 
Annabella,  15 
Apia,  314 
Arbuthnot,    Captain,    Hon. 

James,  144 
Arethusa,  374 
Argus,  145 
Ariel,  177,  179,  186 
Armada,  142 
Arms,  paymaster,  321 
Atlanta,  58 
Atlantic,  121 


Atlas,  197 
Avon,  144 


B 


Bacchus,  145 

Bailey,     Capt.     Theodorus, 

249,    250,   251,   257,   258, 

259,  310,  371 
Bailey,  Lieut.-Col.,  272,  273, 

275 

Baker,  M.  A.,  259,  261 
Baldwin,  coal-heaver,  278 
Baltimore,  338,  339,  344 
Bankhead,  Com'd'r,  243 
Banks,  Gen.  N.  P.,  266, 267, 

272,  275 

Bannatyne,  Dr.,  81 
Barclay,    Capt.    Robert   H., 

173-178,  183-186 
Barclay,  120 
Barney,  Commodore  Joshua, 

20-36 

Barnwell,  Master,  134 
Barrassa,  195 
Barreant,  Captain,  58 
Barron,  Captain  Samuel,  50, 

118 
Barry,    Captain    John,    56, 

57,  58 

Bayou  City,  224,  225 
Beauregard,  219 
Bell,  Commander  H.  H.,  248, 

262,  263,  264 
Belvidera,  108 
Benton,  217,  218 
Bernadou,   Lieut.   John   B., 

333-336 
Biddle,  James,  138, 139, 151, 

152,   154,   155 


385 


3  86 


Index 


Biddle,  Nicholas,  64 

Bilboa,  98,  99 

Bissell,    Commodore    S.    B., 

303,  304 

Black  Hawk,  267,  271 
Blake,   Captain   Homer    C., 

229 
Blakely,  Capt.  Johnston, 

140-144 
Blanco,  Captain-G  e  n  e  r  a  1, 

323 
Boggs,    Commander    C.    S., 

253 
Bon    Homme    Richard,    64, 

71-85,  99,  291 
Bonne  Citoyenne,  120,  160 
Boston,  338,  339 
Bounty,  201,  208 
Boxer,  52-56 
Boyle,  Capt.  Thos.,  195, 196, 

197 

Bradford,  Lieut.-Com'd'r,  232 
Brandywine,  231 
Breeze,  Chaplain,  180 
Brest,  69 
Brooklyn,  90,  249,  252,  256, 

293,  294,  295,  296,  297 
Broke,  Capt.  P.  B.  V.,  159. 

160,   161,    162,    164,    165, 

167,  168 

Brooks,  Lieut.,  180 
Broome,  Captain,  255,  263 
Brown,  Lieut.  James,  165 
Buchan,  Lieut.,  174 
Buchanan,   Capt.   Franklin, 

232,  234,  236,  298,  301 
Buchanan,    Paymaster    Mc- 

Kean,  232 

Budd,  Lieut.  George,  166 
Burden,  Captain,  68 
Burgoyne,  General,  66 
Butler,  Gen.  B.  P.,  246,  253, 

265 


Cabot,  George,  97 
Cabot,  Richard,  97 
Cairo,  217-219 
Caldwell,   Lieut.  C.   H.   B., 
248 


Caledonia,  173,  177,  182 
Callao,  Fort,  379 
Calliope,  319 
Cambon,  M.  Jules,  333 
Campbell,  Lieut.-Col.,  15 
Cape    Verde    Islands,    353, 

366 

Garden,  Capt.  John  S.,  158 
Cardenas  Bay,  333-336 
Carleton,  Sir  Guy,  71 
Carlin,  Lieut.,  320 
Carnation,  194 
Carondelet,  217,  220,  267 
Carrickfergus,  68 
Castillian,  144 
Castillo,  342,  344 
Cavallo,  231 
Cayuga,  249,  250 
Cervera,  Admiral,  347,  356, 

362,  369,  372 
Chacabuco,  378 
Chadwick,  Captain  F.  E., 

327 

Chalmette,  266 
Champion,  276 
Champlin,  Stephen,  172, 

177 

Chanarcille,  309 
Charette,  363 
Chasseur,  195,  196 
Chauncey,  Commodore,  171, 

175,  187 
Cherbourg,  285 
Chesapeake,  159-163 
Chickasaw,  294,  300 
Chillicothe,  267,  270 
Chippeway,  176,  178,  179 
Choctaw,  267 
Chubb,  190 

City  of  Washington,  326 
Clark,    Capt.    C.    E.,    346- 

354 

Clifton,  223,  226 
Cockburn,     Rear     Admiral, 

197 

Columb,  Admiral,  243 
Concas,  Captain,  369 
Concord,  338,  339 
Cone,  Lieut.-Com'd'r,  374 
Confiance,  190,  191,  192 
Congress,  231,  232,  236 


Index 


387 


Conklin,   Lieut.   A.   H.    M., 

177 

Connecticut,  372,  377 
Converse,  Capt.,  356 
Cook,  Captain,  371 
Cooke,  Com'd'r  J.  M.,  277 
Cornwallis,  154 
Corypheus,  223,  226 
Count  of  Paris,  243 
Courronne,  285 
Couthouy,  Lieut.  J.  P.,  269 
Covington,  275,  276 
Cox,  Lieut.  W.  S.,  158 
Craven,  Captain,  295 
Cricket,  267,  268,  270 
Cristobal    Colon,    346,    366, 

370,  371 
Cromwell,  Boatswain's  Mate, 

204,  209,  211 
Culgoa,  374 

Cumberland  Head,  192 
Cumberland,  231-235 
Gushing,  Lieut.  W.  B.,  279- 

283 


Dacres,  Captain,  109 

Dale,  Lieut.  Richard,  82,  90 

Dana,  R.  H.,  213 

Danae,  201 

Davidson,  Thomas,  305 

Davis,    Flag-Officer    C.    H., 

216-220 
Deane,  Mr.,  65 
Decatur,  Lieut.  James,  149 
Decatur,  Stephen,  38,  44,  45, 

47,  48,  49,  118,  156,  158, 

190 

Deerhound,  288,  290 
Defence,  14,  15,  16 
Deforest,  Midshipman,  165 
Dent,  Captain,  146 
De  Soto,  306 
Despatch,  97 
Detroit,  176,  178,  179,  182, 

186 
Dewey,     George,     337-345, 

366 

Dickenson,  Captain,  152 
Dixon,  Corporal,  165 


Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa,  344 
Don  John  of  Austria,  344 
Doty,  Capt.  G.  W.,  306,  310 
Douglas,  Capt.  Hon.  George, 

114 
Downes,    Lieut.    John,    121, 

122,  127,  132 

Downie,  Captain,  190,  191 
Downs,  Commodore  John, 

213 

Dragon,  240 
Drake,  68,  69,  70 
Drayton,  Captain,  293,  295, 

297 

Dubois,  Dr.,  307,  310 
Dudley,  Thomas,  243 
Duncan,  Gen.  J.  K.,  247 
Duras,  70,  71 
Dyer,  Mrs.,  310 

E 

Eagle,  190,  191 

Earl  Camden,  94 

Earl  of  Selkirk,  67 

Eastport,  267,  271,  276 

Edgar,  86 

El  Correo,  344 

Eliza  Ann,  93 

Elizabeth,  95 

Ellet,  Cadet  Charles,  220 

Ellet,  Col.  Charles,  Jr.,  215, 

216 

Ellet,  Lieut.-Col.,  219 
Ellet,  Lieut.  Alfred  W.,  216 
Elliott,  Capt.  Jesse  D.,  177, 

181,  182,  187 
Elphinston,  Captain,  30 
Emory,  Rear  Admiral,  373 
Endymion,  105 
Enterprise,  38-60 
Enterprise,  brig,  147 
JEolus,  108 
Epervier,  155,  156 
Ericsson,  237 
Espiegle,  150 
Essex,  39,  118-135 
Essex  Jr.,  123-127,  132,  135 
Essex,  ironclad,  267 
Estrella,  359,  360 
Eulate,  Captain,  370 


388 


Index 


Evans,   Rear    Admiral,   90, 

370,  373,  379,  382 
Excellent,  289 


Falcon,    Capt.    Gordon 

Thomas,  114,  116 
Falkiner,  Lieut.,  168 
Farragut    David    G.,    119, 

123,    228,    229,    245-264, 

266,  292-300,  343 
Fayal,  193 

Finch,  190 

Fitch,  Col.  G.  N.,  221 

Fly,  51 

Flambeau,  41 

Fletcher,    Capt.    Alexander 

P.,  60 

Flusser,  Lieut.,  278 
Foote,  Flag   Officer  A.  H., 

245 

Fort  de  Russy,  268 
Fort  Fisher,  283 
Fort  Gaines,  292 
Fort      Hindman,     gunboat, 

267,  268,  270,  274 
Fort  Powell,  292,  301 
Franklin,  12,  14 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  36,  66, 

71 

Franklin,  frigate,  302 
Franklin,  General,  275 
Fredericksted,  303 
Fredonia,  306,  308,  310 
Freeman,  pilot,  295 
Fritze,  Commander,  314 
Frolic,  136-139 
Furor,  366,  368 


Galena,  293 

Gallapagos  Islands,  124 
Gallop,  John,  6,  7,  8 
Galveston,  223 
Gamble,  Capt.  Henry,  93 
Gamble,  Lieut.,  126,  191 
Gansevoort,  Lieut.,  207,  208 
Gaspe,  17,  18 
Gazelle,  267 


Geisinger,  Midshipman,  145 
General  Armstrong,  192, 193, 

194 

General  Bragg,  220 
General  Lezo,  293 
General  Lovell,  218,  219 
General  Monk,  35 
General  Pickering,  97-104 
General  Price,  218,  219 
General  Washington,  36 
General  Wellesley,  96 
Georgia,  373 
Georgiana,  13,  21 
Gillis,    Commander    J.    H., 

306,  307,  310 
Glacier,  374 
Glasgow,  64,  97 
Gloucester,  338,  369 
Golden  Eagle,  99,  100,  102 
Gordon,  Lieut.  H.  C.,  196 
Governor  Clinton,  88 
Governor  Moore,  251 
Governor  Tryon,  16 
Grand  Ecore,  271 
Grant,  General  U.  S.,  245 
Green,  General  Thos.,  271 
Green,  seaman,  209 
Greene,  W.  R.,  227 
Greenwich,  121 
Gridley,  Captain,  340 
Guadaloupenne,  42 
Guerriere,  109 

H 

Halleck,  General,  266 
Hambleton,  Purser,  180 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  304 
Hamilton,  Captain,  16 
Hampton  Roads,  215,  230- 

242,  374,  378 
Hancock,  John,  65 
Hannah,  17 

Haraden,  Jonathan,  97-104 
Harding,  Capt.  Seth,  14,  15 
Harriet  Lane,  223-228 
Harrison,  General,  176,  184, 

186 

Harris,  Lieut.,  264 
Hartford,  246-265,  293-300 
Hatteras,  228,  229,  284 


Index 


389 


Havana,  323,  324 
Hawley,  Lieut.  J.  M.,  321 
Hazeltine,  Midshipman,  263 
Hebrus,  146 
Hector,  122 

Heisler,  Lieut.  George,  260 
Henley,  Jonathan,  48 
Hercules,  344 
Hermione,  201,  208 
Hewes,  Joseph,  63 
Hieskell,  Purser,  22,  53 
Hillyar,   Capt.  James,   126, 

127,  128,  129,  132,  135 
Hobson,  Mr.,  357-365 
Holdup,  Lieut.,  177 
Holland,  Dr.,  227 
Hope,  12,  13 
Hopkins,  Commodore,  Ezek., 

64 

Hopkins,  374 
Hornet,  26,  27,  28 
Hornet,  120,  148,  152,  153, 

154,  159,  171 
Howe,  15 
Hudson,  333,  334 
Hull,  374 
Hull,  Isaac,  38,  44,  55,  108- 

114 

Hunter,  176,  178,  179,  182 
Hyder  Ally,  34 


Indiana,  368 

Indien,  66,  67 

Infanta  Maria  Teresa,  366, 

367,  368,  370 
Insurgente,  58,  60 
Intrepid,  32,  46 
Iowa,  368 
Iroquois,  249 
Isla  de  Cuba,  342,  344 
Isla  de  Luzon,  344 
Isla  de  Mindanao,  344 
Itaska,  248,  249,  252,  293 


Jackson,  Fort,  247,  251 
Jackson,  General,  195 
James  Island,  124 


Jamestown,  241 

Java,  112,  113,  114,  121,  187 

Jay,  John,  88 

Jeff  Thompson,  220 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  63,  87 

Jersey,  31 

John   Adams,   44,    50,   203, 

212 

John  and  George,  16 
Johnson,  Com'd'r,  106 
Johnston,    Com'd'r     J.    D., 

301 

Jones,  Capt.  Jacob,  136-140 
Jones,  Capt.  John  Paul,  61- 

90,  291 

Jones,  Hon.  Wm.,  184 
Jones,  William,  62 
Jupiter  Inlet,  354 


Kane,  Captain,  319 

Kansas,  373 

Katahdin,  249 

Kautz,    Lieut.    Albert,   260, 

263,  264 

Kearney,  Lieut.,  147 
Kearsarge,  284-292 
Kearsarge,  ironclad,  374 
Kennebec,  249,  282,  293,  300 
Kentucky,  ironclad,  374 
Key  West,  354 
Kimberly,     Rear     Admiral, 

314,  315 
King  George,  62 
Kingsbury,  Boatswain,  132 
Knight,  10 
Knowles,  quartermaster,  295 


Lackawanna,  293,  300 

Lady  Prevost,  174,  178,  182 

Lafayette,  267 

U Agile,  40 

Lamb,   Midshipman   Henry, 

180 

Lancaster,  217 
I.andais,  Captain,  80 
Langdon,  Miss,  85 


390 


Index 


Laurence,   James,   39,   148- 

151,  159-168 
Laurence,  Colonel,  56 
Lawrence,  172,  174-175, 

177-187 

Law,  Lieut.,  164 
Lea,     Lieut.-Com'd'r,     227, 

228 
Leary,  Commander  Richard, 

314 

Lee,  15 

Lee,  Admiral,  279 
Levant,  114,  115,  116 
Lexington,    267,    269,    270, 

274 

Lexington  of  the  sea,  11 
Lexington,  battle  of,  63 
Lincoln,  President,  282,  302 
Lineres,  General,  363,  364 
Linnet,  190 
Linzee,  Captain,  17 
Little  Belt,  176,  178,  182 
Little  Rebel,  219,  222 
Livermore,  Chaplain,  165 
Livingston,  Philip,  63 
Livingston,  William,  63 
Louis  XVI.,  70,  86,  90 
Louisiana,  247,  374 
Louisville,  217,  220 
Louisville,  ironclad,  267 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  97 
Long,   Secretary,   348,  350, 

351,  353 
Lord,  Lieut.,  275 
Lovell,  General,  258 
Lovell,  Col.  W.  S.,  258 
Lynch,  Sir  Wm.,  24 
Lynn,  Master's  Mate,  145 
Ludlow,    Lieut.,    162,    166, 

168 

M 

MacDonough,    Thomas,    39, 

48,  189-192 
Macedonian,  158 
Machias,  8,  9 
Machias,  333,  334 
MacKenzie,   Com'd'r  A.   S., 

202-214 
Macomb,  General,  189 


McCall,  Lieut.  Edward,  53, 

54 

McCormack,  Captain,  347 
McCullough,  338,  340 
McDonald,  Lieut.,  152 
McKie,  seaman,  209 
McKinley,  President,  329 
McKnight,  Act'g.-Lieut.,  152 
McKnight,    Lieut.    Decatur, 

133 

Magdalena  Bay,  373 
Magellan,  Straits,  378 
Magnifique,  87 
Magruder,  Major-Gen.,  224 
Maidstone,  108 
Maine,  323-333 
Maine,  374 
Manassas,  247,  250 
Manhattan,  294,  299,  300 
Manila  Bay,  337-344 
Manila  forts,  343-372 
Manners,  Capt.  Wm.,  142 
Margaretta,  8,  9,  10,  11 
Marietta,  347,  350,  352 
Mariner,  95 

Marix,  Lieut.-Com'd'r,  327 
Marquis  del  Duero,  344 
Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  56 
Marston,  Captain,  238 
Mars,  56 
Mastico,  44 
Massachusetts,  98,  367 
Mayflower,  354 
Maynant,  Lieut.  John,  81,  82 
Mellish,  65 
Melville,  Herman,  73 
Menzies,  Major,  15 
Merrimac,    215,    217,     227, 

230-244,  277 

Merrimac,  collier,  356-362 
Merry,  Com'd'r  J.  F.,  333, 

334 

Metacomet,  293,  297 
Metcalf,  Secretary,  382 
Miami,  277,  278 
Midway  Island,  311 
Milligan,  Chief  Engineer, 

371 

Mill  Prison,  33 
Minerva,  119 
Minnesota,  374,  376 


Index 


Minnesota,    231,    236,    238, 

239,  240 

Mississippi,  249,  250 
Mississippi,  Confederate, 257 
Mississippi,  transport,   264, 

265 

Missouri,  374 
Mobile  Bay,  292 
Molloy,  Captain,  32 
Monarch,  302 
Monarch,  British  ship,  217 
Monitor,  216,  217,  230-244 
Monocacy,  337 
Monongahela,  293,  300,  303, 

304,  305 

Monroe,  Acting  Master,  227 
Monroe,  Mayor,  258 
Montague,  120 
Montezuma,  121 
Montgomery,  356 
Monticello,  279,  283 
Montojo,  Admiral,  342,  344 
Montt,  President,  378,  379 
Moore,  Lieut.,  8-11 
Morris,  Com'd'r  Victor,  44 
Morris,   Gouverneur,   90 
Morris,   Lieut.   G.   U.,   232, 

234 

Morris,  Lieutenant,  110 
Morris,  Robert,  64 
Mound  City,  267 
Mower,  General,  268 
Mugford,  Capt.,  12,  13,  14 
Mullaney,  Capt.,  299 
Murray  &  Sons,  21-24 

N 

Nanshan,  339 

Nantes,  67 

Nelson,  Horatio,  45,  174 

Neosho,  267,  270,  274 

Neptune,  224,  225 

Nevada,  120 

Newcomb,  Lieut.  F.  H.,  333, 

336 

New  Falls  City,  270 
New  Jersey,  374 
New  Orleans,  245-265 
New  York,  44 
New  Zeland,  124 


Niagara,  172,  175,  177-184 
Nicholson,  Capt.  Samuel, 

106 

Nictheroy,  350,  352 
Nields,  Ensign    H.  C.,  297, 

298 

Nipsic,  314,  321 
Nocton,  120 
North  Carolina,  202 
Nueva  Constitucion,  95 

O 

O'Brien,  Capt.  Jeremiah,  11, 

12 

Octarara,  293 
Ocean  Island,  313 
Odenheimer,  Lieut.,  133 
Ohio,  173,  176 
Oldham,  Mr.,  6,  8 
Oliva,  Admiral,  377 
Olympia,  337-345 
Oneida,  249,  250,  251,  293, 

298,  300 

Ordronaux,  Capt.,  104 
Oregon,  346-355 
Osage,   267,   268,  270,  271, 

274 

Ossipee,  293 
Ouachita,   267 
Owasco,  226,  227 


Pallas,  70,  72 

Palmer,  Captain,  146 

Panther,  374 

Parker,  Admiral  Sir  Peter, 

63 

Pardo,  President,  379 
Patrick  Henry,  241 
Peacock,  149,  150,  154,  155, 

159 

Peake,  Captain,  149 
Pearson,  Capt.   Robert,  81, 

82,  83 

Penguin,  151,  152,  153 
Pennock,  Capt.  A.  H.,  302 
Pensacola,  249,  250,  262 
Perkins,  Lieut.  Goo.  H.,  257 
Perry,  Capt.  C.  R.,  170 


392 


Index 


Perry,  Capt.  0.  H.,  169-187 

Perseus,  30 

Petrel,  338,  344 

Philip,   Fort   St.,  246,  250, 

253 

Pierce,  Minister,  313 
Pinola,  248,  249 
Pinzon,  Lieut.  L.  F.,  370 
Pittsburg,  267 
Plantagenet,  193 
Plattsburg  Bay,  189 
Pluton,  366,  368 
Poictiers,  140,  354 
Policy,  121 

Polo  y  Bernabe,  Sefior,  332 
Pomone,  103 
Porcupine,  177,  182 
Port  Bill,  Boston,  4 
Porter,   David,   39,   43,    59, 

118-135 
Porter,  David  D.,  246,  248, 

250,    266,   270,   274,   275, 

282 

Porter,  354 
Port  Royal,  293 
Portsmouth,  250 
Potomac,  212 
Potter,  Israel,  73,  76,  80 
Potter,  Lieut.-Com'd'r,  327 
Potter,  Midshipman,  83 
Preble,  190 

Prendergast,  Lieut.,  236 
Prevost,  Gen.  Sir  Geo.,  186, 

189,  192 

Puget  Sound,  383 
Punta  Arenas,  377 
Purveyor,  305 
Put  In  Bay,  185 


Quebec,  36 

Queen   Charlotte,  176,  178, 

182 
Queen  of  the  West,  217, 

219,  222 

R 

Racehorse,  29 
Raleigh,  338 


Ramsay,  Capt.  Allen,  263 
Ramsden,  Consul,  363 
Ranger,  65,  66,  67,  68,  69, 

70,  85,  99 
Rapido,  344 
Rappahannock,  285 
Read,  Lieut.  G.  C.,  Ill 
Read,    Midshipman    J.    H., 

260,  263 
Red  Chief,  272 
Rees,  Lieutenant,  343 
Reid,  Capt.  S.  G.,  193,  194, 

195 
Reina    Cristina,    341,    342, 

344 

Reina  Mercedes,  362,  364 
Reindeer,  142 
Renshaw,    Com'd'r    W.    B., 

223,  226 
Revenge,  98 
Revenge,  171 
Rhode  Island,  243 
Richmond,    249,    252,    254, 

263,  293 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  377 
Roanoke,  231,  236 
Robinson,   Captain,   28,  29, 

31 

Rodgers,  Lieut.,  59,  118 
Roebuck,  28 
Rogers,  Captain,  35 
Rogers,  Midshipman,  208 
Roosevelt,     Theodore,     168. 

185,  374,  378 
Rose,  122,  123 
Rosebud,  31 
Rota,  193 
Royal  George,  103 


S 


Sachem,  28,  29,  223,  226 
Saginaw,  311,  313 
Sampson.  Capt.  W.  T.,  327, 

354,  367 
Santiago,  356 
Saratoga,  32 
Saratoga,  corvette,  190,  191, 

192 

Sargeant,  Hosea,  181 
Sartine,  M.  de,  683 


Index 


Sassacus,  278 
Saxon,  223 
Scarboro,  73,  74,  75 
Schley,  Commodore  W.,  371 
Schoonmaker,  Capt.   C.  M., 

310    321 
Scorpion,  172,  177,  178,  179, 

186 

Scotia,  249 
Seine,  40 
Self  ridge,    Lieu  t.-Com'd'r, 

268,  269 
Seminole,  293 
Semmes,  Capt.  Raphael,  214, 

229,  285,  286,  289 
Serapis,  64,  73-86 
Seringapatam,  124 
Severn,  147 
Seville,  Charles,  310 
Shafter,  General,  365,  367 
Shannon,  94 
Shannon,  frigate,  108,  159- 

163 

Shaw,  Lieut.  John,  39 
Sherman,  General,  266,  267 
Ship  Island,  246 
Shubrick,  Lieut.  J.  T.,  149 
Sicard,  Com'd'r  Montgome- 
ry, 311,  312,  323 
Signal,  275,  276 
Sidney,  20,  24,  25 
Sigsbee,  Capt.  C.   D.,  323- 

327 

Sir  Andrew  Hammond,  125 
Sir  William  Erskine,  16 
Small,  Elisha,  202,  210,  211, 

212 

Smith,  Capt.  Leon,  224,  225 
Smith,  Com'd'r  Wm.,  232 
Smith,   Commodore   Joseph, 

236 

Smith,  Gen.  A.  J.,  267,  268 
Smith,  Kirby,  275 
Smith,   Lieutenant,  236 
Smith,  Lieut.  Sidney,  190 
Socapa,  360 
Solway,  67 

Somers,  173,  177,  178,  182 
Somers,  brig,  201-214 
Somers,  Richard,  46,  49 
Soule,  Pierre,  261,  262 


Southfield,  277,  278,  280 
Spartan,  16 
Spencer,  Jno.  C.,  202 
Spencer,  Philip,  202-214 
Spencer,  Wm.  A.,  202 
Sperry,  Rear  Admiral,  374, 

383 

Stanton,  Secretary,  216,  221 
Starlight,  272 
St.  Croix,  303,  305 
St.  Lawrence,  195,  196 
St.  Lawrence,  brig,  196,  197 
St.  Mary's  Isle,  67 
St.  Thomas,  305 
Stebbins,  Captain,  16 
Sterrett,  Lieut.  Andrew,  42, 

43 
Stewart,   Charles,   42,    114, 

116,  118 
Stewart,  374 
Stone,  Captain,  26,  27 
Story,  Judge,  168 
Sumner,  Charles,  214 
Sumter,  219 
Susquehanna,  306 
Sutton,  Lieut.,  321 
Suwanee,  367 
Swan,  Paymaster,  281 
Symonds,  Com'd'r,  347,  349 


Talbot,  Commodore,  171 
Talbot,    Lieut.   J.    G.,    312, 

313,  314 

Tammany  Hall,  195 
Tanner,  August,  310 
Tartarus,  144 
Tatnall,  Com'd'r,  242 
Taylor,  General,  275 
Taylor,  Master  M.  V.,  172 
Tecumseh,  186 
Temerario,  350,  351,  352 
Tennessee,    295,    298,    299, 

300,  301 

Tenney,  Matthew,  235 
Terror,  366 
Texas,  368 
Thames,  94 
Thetis,  119 


394 


Index 


Thomas,  Rear  Admiral,  374, 

383 

Thompson,  Jeff,  220 
Thorn,  16 
Thornton,   Lieu  t.-Com'd'r, 

J.  S.,  289 

Three  Brothers,  145 
Ticonderoga,  190 
Tigress,  173,  177,  182 
Tom  Bowline,  154 
Toulon,  45 
Trenton,  314-322 
Trepassy,  58 
Trinidad,  376 
Tripoli,  42,  43,  44,  45,  46 
Trippe,  Lieut.,  48,  49 
Trippe,  173,  177 
Truxton,  374 
Truxton,  Commodore,  Thos., 

58,  59,  60 

Tucker,  Captain,  126,  134 
Tuscarora,  283 
Tyler,  President  John,  202, 

213 
Tyrannicide,  97-104 

U 

Union,  71 

United  States,  156,  157,  158 

Unity,  10 

Valdivia,  Fort,  379 

Valley  City,  282 

Valparaiso,  123,  125,  378 

Van  Brunt,  Captain,  239 

Vandalia,  202,  314,  320,  321 

Van  Dorn,  220,  222 

Varuna,  249-254 

Velocity,  223 

Velasco,  344 

Vengeance,  70,  72 

Vermont,  373 

Virginia,  374 

Virginia,  Confederate,  232 

Vixen    159 

Vizcaya,  324,  366,  370 

W 

Wadsworth,  Henry,  46 


Wainwright,  Com'd'r   Rich- 
ard, 223-228 
Wainwright,  Lieut.-Com'd'r, 

326,  368 

Wales,  Captain,  155 
Wales,  purser's  steward, 

204,  205,  206,  207 
Walker,  120 

Wallingford,  Lieutenant,  69 
Wallis,  Lieut.,  168 
Warner,  275 

Warrington,  Captain,  155 
Warrior,  252 
Washington,  George,  4,  63, 

65,  87 

Wasp,  28,  159 
Wasp,  ship,  136-147 
Wateree,     306,     309,     310, 

311 
Waters,   Capt.    Daniel,    15, 

16 

Watson,  94 
Watt,  Lieutenant,  165 
Welles,    Secretary    G.,   245, 

289 

Westfall,  Gunner,  316,  317 
Westfield,  223,  226,  227 
Weston,  Josiah,  9 
Weyler,   Captain-Gen.,   323, 

324 

Wharton,  Lieut.,  300 
Whingates,  Capt.  Thos.,  136 
Whipple,  Captain,  18 
Whitehaven,  67 
Wier,  Captain,  225 
William,  94 
Wilmer,  Lieut.,  133 
Wilmington,  333,  336 
Wilson,  Capt.  Oliver,  92,  93, 

94 

Wilson,  Lieut-Com'd'r,  223 
Wilson,  seaman,  209 
Winnebago,  294,  300 
Winona,  249,  252 
Winslow,  333,  334,  335,  336 
Winslow,  Capt.  J.  A.,  285, 

286 

Winslow,  Dr.,  307 
Wissahickon,  249 
Wood,  W.  W.,  280 
Woodman,  Mate,  281 


Index 


395 


Worden,  Lieut.,  238,  241 
Y 

Yankee,  92,  93,  94,  95 
Yankton,  374 
Yarmouth,  32 

Yarnall,  Lieut.  J.  Y.,  179, 
181 


Young,  Capt.  John,  32 
Z 

Zafiro,  339 
Zettich,  Ensign,  298 
Zimmerman,   Lieut.   C.   W., 
227 


TWENTY- SIX 
HISTORIC  SHIPS 

The  Story  of  Certain  Famous  Vessels 
of  War  and  of  their  Successors  in  the 
Navies  of  the  United  States  and  of  the 
Confederate  States  of  America  from 
1775  to  1902 

By  FREDERIC  STANHOPE  HILL 

Late  U.  S.  Mavy 

Author  of  "  Twenty  Years  at  Sea,"    "  The  Story  of  the  Lucky  Little 
'  Enterprise, ' "  etc. 

With   an  Introduction  by  George  Eugene   Betknap 

Rear  Admiral   (Retired)  U.  S.  -V. 

8°.    With  32  Illustrations.    Net,  $3.50.     By  mail,  $3.75 

Admiral  Bradford  writes  concerning  this  volume  as  follows :  "A  most  interest- 
ing work.  The  Bureau  has  directed  the  Commandant  of  the  Navy  Yard  to  in- 
clude the  title  of  this  book  in  the  list  from  which  the  libraries  of  the  officers  are 
selected.  The  work  must  possess  permanent  value  for  the  Navy." 

_"  Mr.  Hill  has  selected  his  matter  and  presented  it  in  such  an  attractive  form  that 
his  book  stands  alone  in  its  way,  and  includes  what  heretofore  required  many 
volumes." — Boston  Transcript. 

"One  thing  concerning  the  book  is  certain,  and  that  is  its  value  as  an  educa- 
tional force  of  great  attractiveness.  He  has  by  careful  presentation  given  in 
moderate  compass  all  the  general  reader  and  many  students  desire  to  know  con- 
cerning the  great  naval  duels  of  the  United  and  the  Confederate  States  of 
America."— Baltimore  Sun. 

G.   P.   PUTNAM'S  SONS 

New  YorK  London 


The  United  States  Naval 
Academy 

Being  the  Yarn  of  the  American  Midshipman 
(Naval  Cadet)  showing  his  Life  in  the  old  Frigates 
and  Ships-of-the-Line,  and  then  at  the  Naval  School 
at  Annapolis;  and  how  that  Institution  became  a 
famous  Naval  College,  meanwhile  making  him  into 
the  most  Accomplished  and  Versatile  young  Sea- 
man in  the  World;  together  with  some  Reference 
to  the  Boys  best  suited  for  the  Navy,  and  what  they 
must  do  and  know  to  get  into  the  Naval  Academy, 
and  what  they  have  to  expect  while  there :  and  also 
many  Pictures,  all  properly  stopped  to  the  Yarn  as 
it  is  handsomely  paid  out. 

By  PARK  BENJAMIN 

Of  the  Class  of  1867 


8°.     Fully  Illustrated        .        .        net  $2.50 


"Mr.  Park  Benjamin  has  a  taste  for  historical  re- 
search ;  he  is  a  practised  writer  ;  he  has  a  keen  sense  of 
humor,  not  unduly  restrained  by  a  reverence  for  author- 
ities, and  he  has  a  lively  style  of  his  own.  Thus  he  is 
well  equipped  for  his  work,  and  has  been  able  to  weave 
a  somewhat  incongruous  and  not  altogether  enlivening 
mass  of  material  into  an  interesting  narrative." — Army 
and  Navy  Journal. 

NewYork-Q.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS -London 


"  The  best  summary  at  present  available  of  the 
political  history  of  the   United  States." 

FRANK  H.  HODDER,  Professor  of  American  History  in  the 
University  of  Kansas. 


American  Political  History 

1763-1876 

By  Alexander  Johnston 

Edited  and  Supplemented  by 

James  Albert  Woodburn 

Professor  of   History  and   Political  Science,   Indiana    Uni- 
versity; Author  of  "  The  American  Republic," 
"  Political  Parties  and  Party  Problems 
in  the  United  States,"  etc. 

In  tioo  parts,  each  complete  in  itself  and  indexed,  Otatvo. 
Each,  net  $2.00 

1.  The  Revolution,  the  Constitution,  and  the  Growth 
of  Nationality.    1763-1832. 

2.  The  Slavery  Controversy,  Secession,  Civil  War, 
and  Reconstruction.     1820-1876. 

These  volumes  present  the  principal  features  in  the  political  history 
of  the  United  States  from  the  opening  of  the  American  Revolution  to 
the  close  of  the  era  of  the  Reconstruction.  They  give  in  more  con- 
venient form  the  series  of  articles  on  "American  Political  History  "  con- 
tributed to  Lalor's  "Cyclopedia  of  Political  Science,  Political  Economy, 
and  Political  History,"  by  the  late  Professor  Alexander  Johnston. 

"  These  essays,  covering  the  whole  field  of  the  political  history  of  the 
United  States,  have  a  continuity  and  unity  of  purpose ;  introduced, 
arranged  and  supplemented  as  they  have  been  by  Professor  Woodburn 
(who  contributes  a  very  necessary  chapter  on  the  Monroe  Doctrine)  they 
present  a  complete  and  well-balanced  history  of  the  politics  of  the  United 
States." — Hartford  Courant. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

New  York  London 


American  Orations 

FROM  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD 
TO  THE  PRESENT- TIME 


Selected  as  specimens  of  eloquence,  and  with 
special  reference  to  their  value  in  throwing  light 
upon  the  more  important  epochs  and  issues  of 
American  history. 

Edited,  with  introductions  and  notes,  by  the 
late  ALEXANDER  JOHNSTON,  Professor  of  Juris- 
prudence in  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 

Re-edited,  with  new  material  and  historical 
notes,  by  JAMES  A.  WOODBURN,  Professor  of 
American  History  and  Politics  in  Indiana  Uni- 
versity. 

FOUR  VOLUMES, 

BACK   COMPLETE   IN    ITSELF   AND    SOLD   SEPARATELY 

Crown  octavo,  gilt  tops,  per  volume,  $1.25 
Set,  four  volumes,  in  a  box  .  .  5.00 
Half  calf,  extra  .....  10.00 

SERIES  I.  Colonialism — Constitutional  Govern- 
ment— The  Rise  of  Democracy — The  Rise 
of  Nationality. 

SERIES  II.  The  Anti-Slavery  Struggle. 

SERIES  III.  The  Anti-Slavery  Struggle  (Contin- 
ued)— Secession. 

SERIES  IV.  Civil  War  and  Reconstruction — 
Free  Trade  and  Protection — Finance  and 
Civil-Service  Reform. 

"  Regarded  merely  as  studies  in  language,  these  orations  contain  some 
of  the  most  eloquent  and  persuasive  speeches  in 


m.  IMVHOW  BVOM  icucaia  iLscii  tu  me  reader,  wno  reels  me  impulse  01  past 
evtr.cs  and  the  vitality  of  great  principles  behind  them." — School  Journal. 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 
NEW  YORK  LONDON 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


,OCT 


QUARTER  LOAN 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stampid  below. 

•  '4 


INTERLIBRARY  LOANS 


of  Receipt 


1^198$ 


I 


3  1158010929197 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000102778     8 


